Leading pair seek maiden win

Two players without a single European Tour win between them in 368 attempts lead the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles with a round to go.

Sweden’s Fredrik Andersson Hed, worried he might have to pull out of the event before the start, produced a brilliant charge through the field today to share top spot with England’s Simon Wakefield.

And Wakefield had to chip in at the last to be alongside him on nine under par, with Scot Marc Warren only one behind.

Down in 33rd place at halfway, 35-year-old Andersson Hed, without a win in 188 tries, defied strong winds to return a brilliant seven-under-par 66, while Wakefield, never better than second in 180 goes, returned a level par 73.

Exercising at home on Tuesday, Andersson Hed – he added his wife’s maiden name to his own when they married three years ago – suddenly felt twinges in his back.

“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to play but flew home and got some great help from the physio guys on Tour,” he said.

“I didn’t hit a single practice shot on Wednesday, just a few putts.”

Since turning professional in 1992, Andersson Hed has made no fewer than 12 trips to the qualifying school, the last of them last November after he fell off the circuit in 2005 and had to switch to the “second division” Challenge Tour.

He is in no danger of having to go back to school at the end of this year, though.

In a golden spell earlier this season he finished sixth in the Spanish Open, third in the Italian Open and then joint runner-up behind Lee Westwood back in Spain.

He rated his 66 probably the best round of his life taking into consideration the conditions. The average score was over the par of 73.

Wakefield left the amateur ranks a decade ago and has had six visits to the school.

But he was runner-up to Ernie Els in China two years ago and third in May’s Irish Open to be sure of keeping his card as well.

Not a fan of Saturdays, his final shot made this a perfectly satisfactory one for the 33-year-old from Staffordshire – and the Port Vale side he supports grabbed a late winner at Bournemouth.

Wakefield shared the halfway lead with former Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet and the Frenchman led by two when he birdied the third and Wakefield double-bogeyed it.

But Levet was the one to have more problems after that, running up a double bogey seven at the 16th in his 76.

Warren would have been better placed but for double bogeys on the fourth and fifth, but he covered the remaining holes in four under.

The wind was such that Andersson Hed had a problem with a moving ball on the final green.

Having just made a 50-foot putt for his sixth birdie at the short 17th, he was on in two at the par-five last, putted up to five feet and then saw the ball move as he flicked his marker away.

Calling for a referee, the ball moved again as he was explaining the situation.

There was no penalty, though, because the referee ruled that the wind caused the movement rather than the player.

“I wasn’t worried about a penalty,” he said. “I just wanted to check whether I had to move the ball back.”

As for the four members of last year’s Ryder Cup team in the field, Lee Westwood is best placed, joint fourth on seven under after a second successive 69.

His third round included a double bogey six on the short fourth before he hit back with birdies at the sixth, eighth, ninth, 12th and 18th.

Colin Montgomerie is still on the fringe of contention at five under following a 71, defending champion Paul Casey (73) one further back, but Darren Clarke one over after a nightmare finish of bogey six, double bogey five and double bogey seven for a 76.