Ames stakes claim

Just 32 days after being hammered by Tiger Woods, former European Tour player Stephen Ames was heading for the biggest win of his career in Florida.

With Sergio Garcia dropping five shots in the first five holes and Vijay Singh bogeying three of them, Trinidad-born Ames held a comfortable lead with nine holes of the £5m (€7.2m) Players Championship remaining.

The 41-year-old, crushed by Woods by a record nine and eight margin at the Accenture Match Play last month, went to the turn in a superb 34 and at 11 under he started for home four clear of South Africa’s Retief Goosen.

Garcia, who had resumed in second place with Singh only one behind 2002 runner-up Ames, had dropped to joint seventh on four under.

The 26-year-old Spaniard missed from under three feet for a three-putt bogey six on the second, failed to get up and down from sand at the next, then went from rough to water for a double-bogey six on the fourth and let another shot go at the fifth.

By then Swede Henrik Stenson had taken over as leading European, joint fourth on five under.

Meanwhile, Greg Owen, like Jean Van de Velde more famous for losing a tournament than winning one, and Ian Poulter saw their dream of playing in this year’s Masters fade away.

After a third-round 77 Owen, left to rue his late collapse at Bay Hill last week even more, was down in 32nd place and needed to climb to 13th to grab a place at Augusta.

From the moment he putted off the lightning-fast opening green and bogeyed it looked mission impossible, but after battling away for one-over total of 289 he still clung to a slight chance at joint 25th as most of those ahead of him had still to finish.

“The Masters was on my mind all day, but the greens were the quickest I’ve ever played on – close to being unplayable,” he said. “The only places it seemed they had not watered them were where the holes were.”

Winning the Bay Hill Invitational would have put him well inside the world’s top 50. But second place meant 53rd – and it is only the top 50 after this week’s event that earn Augusta exemptions.

Poulter required a third place this week, but was 27th with a round to go and a 75 for two over ended his hopes.

The moment it all went horribly wrong for him was the 12th in his third-round 75. Poulter could move his ball less than 14 yards from the rough and took hefty whacks at a patch of land he never wants to see again.

His actions, captured on television, could result in a fine, but while he chose not to comment about the incident afterwards he said: “That’s got to be one of the hardest course I’ve ever played.

“I don’t want to whinge and moan, but I got punished for no reason. Good shots got punished and bad shots got really punished.”

David Howell, the current European Tour number one, had been another to come off the windswept Sawgrass on Saturday looking completely frazzled.

Howell had not scored worse than his 81 since 1998, but his comment “better now than in two weeks” said it all for him. He does have the Masters to look forward to.

The Swindon golfer reckoned he played played seven of the first 10 holes “beautifully“, yet was six over par and by the time a chip at the 18th failed to make it up a ridge and rolled 45 feet from the flag he had just about had enough.

Normally mild-mannered, Howell went to lash out at his golf bag, but just managed to stop himself.

Three birdies in the first four holes indicated that the 81 had not any lasting damage to Howell’s confidence and he finished with a 70 for five over.

“Yesterday was just one of those days, but I played nicely again today and my game’s in the best shape going into a major ever – so I’ll probably go and miss the cut,” he said. First, though, he has this week’s BellSouth Classic in Atlanta.

Woods, in his last competitive round before a defence of the Masters which inevitably has a question mark over it because of the health of his father, came in with a 75 to be alongside Owen.

Meanwhile, Darren Clarke, whose wife Heather is battling cancer, got to three under, but bogeyed the 16th and was in the water at the short 17th.

The Ulsterman double-bogeyed there and finished with a 73 for level par that left him 23rd with Londoner Brian Davis (72).

For a while Ames was under challenge from not just one South African, but two. Ernie Els climbed to second place by covering the first 11 holes in five under, but he bogeyed the 14th and 15th and followed Clarke into the lake two holes later.