Dougherty keeps Wilson in his sights

Ollie Wilson played and talked like a Ryder Cup player-in-waiting today – but Nick Dougherty is not ready to stop hunting him just yet.

The two young guns shot 68 and 69 respectively in the third round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and that means the year-long race will not be settled until the final day.

While Frenchman Gregory Havret stayed out in front in the tournament – an eagle on the 516-yard second lifted last year’s Scottish Open champion to nine under par and one ahead of a group including a charging Lee Westwood – Wilson and Dougherty had their own agendas.

Wilson, who had been on the brink of despair when he stood at six over par after eight holes on Friday, continued a superb comeback to reach three under with a round to go.

But Dougherty, who needs to finish second to have a chance, improved to five under and by his own reckoning a closing 66 could yet bring him a first cap just four months after his mother died of a heart attack.

“I’m enjoying the challenge and I’m delighted to still have a sniff,” said the 26-year-old Liverpudlian.

“I’ll see if I can make Ollie sweat a bit.

“It’s a big day. The culmination of a year’s worth of golf comes down to one day.

“I played wonderfully today and made nothing. The longest putt was the five-footer on the last.”

That was for his fifth birdie, but once again the greens on the 2014 Ryder Cup course gave everyone nightmares.

“I played like eight or nine-under golf, not four under, and I needed a good score to keep the dream alive and I achieved that.”

Wilson is still in the driving seat, though, and is odds-on to be cracking open the champagne with Justin Rose, Dane Soren Hansen and the two players given wild cards by captain Nick Faldo tomorrow night.

If Dougherty does get to second place on his own Wilson will still edge him out of the team if he finishes 27th.

European Open champion Fisher looked to have fallen out of contention today when a 73 kept him at level par and deep in the pack. He required a top-three finish.

Wilson, in the hot seat of 10th on the points table entering the last counting event, made the halfway cut with nothing to spare.

Then, despite a near-sleepless night, he showed he was much more relaxed as he continued his bid to become the first player to make the European Ryder Cup side without ever winning a professional tournament.

“I was so tired first thing, though,” he admitted.

“I put so much into the first two days, but then woke up around 2am wide awake.

“I got back to sleep about 5.30 and then woke up again at six. But I played nicely and I’m in a good position now.”

Rose and Hansen, eighth and ninth on the table, were both on five under with Dougherty after 12 and 10 holes respectively.

In the separate scrap for Faldo’s wild cards Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke were both unable to make the move they hoped for today.

Clarke, who may well have done enough with his win in Holland last week, four-putted the long 12th for a double-bogey seven and was level par with two to play.

Montgomerie took six on the second and also bogeyed the eighth and ninth, but two birdies meant he was one under. He could well need to win the title, however, to make Faldo pick him.

Clarke and Paul Casey, playing in America, are the two favourites.

Wilson is looking forward to a rest almost as much as he is looking forward to making the team.

“I want to get fresh,” he added.

“I’m not thinking as clearly as I should.

“It’s all a bit of fatigue. I’ve put a lot of effort into the last few months, especially the last two weeks.”

Westwood, the player who wants the greens dug up before the Ryder Cup comes to the course, turned in two, birdied the 11th and 12th and then eagled the 320-yard 13th after a drive to six feet.

Alongside him on eight under were fellow Englishman Anthony Wall, German Marcel Siem and Italian Francesco Molinari.