Jacobsen still in running after hole-in-one

Helped by a hole-in-one, American Peter Jacobsen kept alive the chance of becoming the oldest-ever winner of a major title at Pinehurst today.

The 51-year-old former Ryder Cup player, who earned a spot in the field by capturing last year’s US Seniors Open, aced the 175-yard ninth hole en route to a sparkling third round 69.

It lifted Jacobsen onto the four over total of 214 and while that was still six strokes off the pace all the players in front of him were only on the opening stretch of a course bordering between ferociously difficult and diabolically so.

Predictions of an over-par winning score in the event for the first time since 1978 were starting to look spot on.

Nine players were under par after the first round, five at halfway and after just three holes that was down to a mere two – defending champion Retief Goosen at two under and little-known American Jason Gore, 818th in the world, on one.

The only players older than Jacobsen to lift major trophies are 48-year-old Julius Boros at the 1968 US PGA, Old Tom Morris in the 1867 Open championship and Jack Nicklaus at the 1986 Masters.

Goosen was seeking to join a pretty elite band too – since the Second World War only Ben Hogan and Curtis Strange have won the US Open back-to-back and he would also be just the sixth to have three victories in the event.

Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Hogan and Nicklaus have won and Hale Irwin, the oldest winner of the US Open at 45 in 1990, three.

While the South African resumed with three pars joint overnight leaders Gore and Olin Browne bogeyed the first and second respectively. Browne, himself 300th in the world rankings, dropped another shot at the third to be level par with David Toms, Michael Campbell, Mark Hensby and KJ Choi.

Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia were in the next group on two over, but Luke Donald, after an opening birdie, had dropped back alongside Jacobsen.

On his hole-in-one Jacobsen said: “As it left the club it was right on line. At first I thought it might have hit the flag and gone over, but the fans then raised their arms like ’touchdown’.

“If I said I thought I could win coming in here I’d be lying, but I thought I could make the cut.”

Goosen was not yet coming under threat from the four players head of him in the world.

Vijay Singh, the closest to him at halfway, made a double bogey on the driveable third. He chose to lay up, then pitched over the green and three-putted.

Tiger Woods, one over overnight, bogeyed two of the first three and remained three over after eight holes.

The world number one had escaped disqualification, but had come in for stinging criticism from fans and commentators for his scraping of the ninth green with his putter in annoyance at missing a putt in the second round.

Officials decided it did not constitute a serious breach of etiquette because it was a one-off and he did make a small attempt to repair the damage, but his behaviour was being monitored and tossing his club after missing the green at the first today did not help.

Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els looked out of the running at eight over and nine over following rounds of 72.

Bizarrely, Mickelson birdied the toughest hole, the 16th, but triple-bogeyed the easiest – the long fourth. He went out of bounds with his drive there.

Els was one under going out, but four-putted the 10th for a double bogey seven and needed three attempts to get onto the raised green at the 13th to drop two more shots.

“Anybody within probably five shots (after the round) has a realistic shot,” commented Mickelson. He had to wait to see if that included him.