Senior Open: Paul Broadhurst claims one-shot lead at Royal Lytham
Saturday 27 July 2019 20:21, UK
Paul Broadhurst put himself in prime position to land a second Senior Open title after snatching the outright lead after a rain-hit third round at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Broadhurst birdied two of the last three holes to return a commendable 67 in the testing conditions as he closed on five under to edge ahead of a trio of American challengers, while Darren Clarke slipped four shots off the pace after an erratic 73.
Only 11 players will enter the final day under par for the tournament, while Sunday will mark the end of an era for Open legend Tom Watson after he announced his retirement from Senior major golf as he prepares to celebrate his 70th birthday in September.
Watson will bring down the curtain on his links golf career shortly before Broadhurst arrives on the first tee looking to build on his impressive first 54 holes and emulate his victory at Carnoustie in 2016 on his Senior Open debut.
The Englishman did not get his third round off to the best of starts as he bogeyed the third hole before digging deep to claw the shot back at the short fifth, and another two at the ninth took him to the turn in 33.
Broadhurst coped admirably with the elements and put together a solid run of pars before back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17 took him to the top of the leaderboard, a position he consolidated with a closing four which kept him just ahead of Woody Austin, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions.
Austin was one over for the day at the turn following bogeys at eight and nine, but he revived his bid for a maiden major title with four birdies in a back-nine 32 which lifted him into outright second ahead of compatriots Wes Short Jnr and Ken Duke.
Short did well to get round in 73 after suffering back and arm injuries when he slipped and fell awkwardly on his way to the course on Saturday morning, and required pain-killers to continue playing having held the overnight lead after a pair of 67s.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
The seemingly ageless Bernhard Langer is just three shots behind in his attempt to win a fourth Senior Open title after the German mixed two birdies with a pair of bogeys, including one at the last which dropped him into a share of fifth with Welsh duo Stephen Dodd (69) and Phillip Price (70), and Australian David McKenzie.
England's Paul Eales returned a best-of-the-day 66 to storm into contention on one under par alongside Clarke, who enjoyed a superb start when he knocked his opening shot of the day to tap-in range before carving his tee-shot at the second out of bounds.
The mistake led to a double-bogey six, and the senior rookie steadied himself with six pars before offsetting a bogey at eight with a birdie at nine before further mistakes at 11, 15 and 16 saw him slip to level par for the tournament.
But Clarke gave himself a lift when he drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the penultimate green, although he left one short from similar distance at the last as he settled for a 73 which leaves him firmly in contention heading into the final day.
Scottish duo Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie will look to make an early charge on Sunday as they ended the third round six adrift of the leader along with Roger Chapman and two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen.
Live European Seniors Tour Golf
