Forsyth builds three-shot lead

He may be 120 places lower in the world, but Alastair Forsyth clearly won his duel with Sergio Garcia at Valderrama today – and now has a great chance to win the Volvo Masters as well.

The 28-year-old Scot, one behind at the start of the third round, ended it three clear – and ended it in the gathering gloom after a thunderstorm held up play for 86 minutes.

Forsyth, ranked 130th against Garcia’s 10th, goes into the final 18 holes of the Order of Merit season-ending event on nine under par after a best-of-the-day 67, with the Spaniard’s 71 leaving him joint second with Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter.

The hold-up came just after Forsyth rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the 403-yard 13th to go two ahead.

During the delay three of the greens – the 13th, 14th and 17th – were cut in error by the groundstaff, but officials ruled that the course had not been significantly altered, informed the 10 players who had still to finish and resumed play at 6.33pm.

On the resumption Garcia missed a six-foot par putt, but then Forsyth bogeyed the next after coming up short of the green.

Garcia was back to only one behind with a 25-footer on the 15th, but his playing partner holed from 15 feet at the next and seven feet on the dangerous 17th.

Poulter, meanwhile, had birdied the 16th and 17th as well and produced a magnificent recovery from a bunker at the last to save his par and a round of 69.

Forsyth has only one European tour win to his name and that in faraway Malaysia two years ago after he had failed to survive the previous November’s qualifying school.

He has proven himself since then by finishing 19th on last season’s Order of Merit and the £432,202 first prize tomorrow – £250,000 more than he has ever earned in one tournament before – would enable him to improve on that.

Whatever the outcome, the Paisley golfer has certainly enjoyed himself on the Costa del Sol course more than he did last year. He began the event then by playing the first eight holes in nine over, finished the day with an 82 and the tournament on 13 over.

Garcia remained one in front after 10 holes, but Forsyth lipped out with an eagle chip on the 11th and then the Spaniard three-putted the next, missing from under three feet.

It had not been plain-sailing for Garcia earlier on. He failed to get up and down from a bunker at the second and found more sand on the 196-yard next.

That time, however, he holed from six feet for a three and then converted birdie chances of seven and four feet at the fourth and ninth.

Forsyth had bogeyed the first, going over the green and lipping out from nine feet, but he made birdie putts of 30 and 14 feet on the seventh and eighth.

Leader in the clubhouse on two under was Trevor Immelman, the South African who a week ago in Madrid was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the nearest hospital after he suffered a violent reaction to a wasp sting on his knee.

Immelman’s ears closed up and he experienced pins and needles all over his body, but was given injections and felt well enough to play the folowing day.

As for Darren Clarke, who had been at the top of the leaderboard prior to running up an 11 on the long 17th in the second round, he came back with a 68, but although he had leapt from 25th to joint eighth he considered himself a long shot for the title at level par.

Colin Montgomerie, meanwhile, had a 69, but was definitely out of the hunt on five over.

Garcia was relieved to still be in the event after it looked as if it might be disqualified on Friday night.

At the short third he had gone into the trees and, having told playing partner Jose Manuel Lara that he was playing a provisional ball, hit it to 12 feet and two-putted for a double bogey five.

Later, however, officials were informed that the first ball had been found in bounds and if Garcia had been informed of that at the time then he was not allowed to continue with the provisional ball and faced being thrown out.

Chief referee John Paramor admitted he found it “bizarre in the extreme” that not one of around 500 fans had brought it to Garcia’s attention before he continued with the other ball, but in the circumstances there was no punishment.