Hoey makes early move

Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey found himself paired with former European Open champions Colin Montgomerie and Kenneth Ferrie in the third round of the BMW International Open in Munich today – and he was the one to make the early move.

All three had survived the halfway cut with nothing to spare and while the other two resumed with six straight pars Hoey, whose first Tour win came in Portugal in April, birdied the fifth and then eagled the long next to climb into the top 20 at six-under-par.

Just to be playing at the weekend was a new experience this season for Ferrie. Back in Europe after failing to keep his US Tour card he had missed his first 11 cuts, but closed his second round with a 12-foot birdie putt yesterday.

“I’ve gone through angry, depressed, frustrated, worried – you’ve just got to keep playing and take one shot at a time,” said the Northumberland golfer, who after squeezing into the closing 36 holes could add relieved to his list of emotions.

Montgomerie, meanwhile, will have gone a full year without a top 10 finish if he fails to achieve that tomorrow.

The last time the Ryder Cup player did it was his runners-up finish in the French Open on June 29 last year and he is now outside the world’s top 200.

At six under Hoey was still six-strokes adrift of South African Retief Goosen, who led Dane Soren Kjeldsen by a stroke.