Saturday is traditionally referred to as ‘Moving Day’ at golf tournaments but the idiom could not have been further from the truth at Pula Golf Club where none of the main protagonists in the Mallorca Classic shifted very much at all. Summing that up perfectly were leaders Niclas Fasth and Gary Murphy who started the day tied at the head of affairs and ended it in exactly the same situation.
The Swede and the Irishman carded matching opening rounds of 66 and 71 and the parity remained on Saturday when they both posted level par 70s for a three under par total of 207 to move one shot clear of Australian Peter O’Malley, who returned a 68 for a two under par total of 208.
Still very much in with a chance of victory and the €291,660 (£196,557) first prize are Sweden’s Peter Hanson and Marc Warren of Scotland who ended the day in a share of fourth place on one under par 209 while the tournament favourite Sergio Garcia returned his third consecutive 70 for a level par total of 210 to share sixth place with another Swede, Steven Jeppesen.
Leaders Fasth and Murphy both had chances to take outright pole position into the final day but neither could capitalise fully on their periods of ascendancy at the Majorca venue.
Murphy, who started the week in the 118th and final safe place on the Order of Merit and naturally fearful for his future, could afford to put that behind him, think of victory and even a place in next week’s Volvo Masters when he started well with birdies at the first and sixth holes.
It moved the Irishman into the lead but a rocky spell saw him drop shots at the seventh, ninth and 12th holes before he steadied the ship with a birdie at the 14th and four par figures to finish.
While Murphy was wobbling, Fasth was enjoying contrasting fortunes, birdies at the sixth and the ninth taking him into a two shot lead and with reasonable belief he was on the way to a second Spanish success of the 2006 season, having won the Andalucia Open de España Valle Romano at San Roque in April.
But, like Murphy, the Swede then endured a part of his round where not everything went according to plan and he dropped consecutive shots at the 14th and 15th. A brave putt stopped another one from going south at the 16th before his challenge got back on track with a birdie at the 17th from 20 feet.
Third placed O’Malley, 61st at the start of the week on the Order of Merit, came into the tournament with the goal of doing well enough to move up one place and secure his place in the Volvo Masters and remained on track to do just that, while Garcia remained keen to try and win the tournament itself for the second time in three years and claim his seventh European Tour title overall.
“I hit plenty of good shots out there but I also hit a couple of bad ones which cost me,” said the Spaniard. “I just felt like I couldn’t get anything really going out there. Conditions were a little easier today overall but, in saying that, there might not have been so much wind but I don’t think I have seen wind change direction so much on a golf course in my life.”
Two shots behind Garcia on two over par 212 is Sweden’s Robert Karlsson who still has one eye on winning The European Tour Order of Merit for the first time. Currently fourth, the Ryder Cup man can go second if he wins but any other finish will significantly close the gap on the leading three of Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington and David Howell as the most exciting Order of Merit race for years reaches its conclusion next week at Club de Golf Valderrama.
Aside from the quest for the tournament itself, the desire to get into the Volvo Masters and the race to finish Number One on The European Tour Order of Merit, the Mallorca Classic is also, of course, the final tournament for those players battling to keep their playing privileges for the 2007 season and the third round produced several fantastic performances from those players taking their seats in the last chance saloon.
Highlight unquestionably came from England’s Andrew Butterfield who, at the start of the tournament, was 131st on the Order of Merit, knowing he needed something special to get into the top 118.
The 34 year old, who lost in a play-off to Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg in last season’s Russian Open, certainly produced that at the end of his third round. Coming to the 203 yard 18th hole, Butterfield was over par for the day but put that right in stunning fashion with his first hole in one in European Tour competition.
Courtesy of a perfectly struck six iron, the ace helped Butterfield to a third round 69 for a two over par total of 212 and a share of 11th place overall and in with a great chance of winning enough money to keep his card for next year. He also won a brand new Hyundai Sante Fe for the shot.
“When it left the club it looked like it was heading for the hole but I couldn’t really see it,” said Butterfield. “I was just concerned that I had hit it hard enough to get over the bunker and then I heard the crowd cheering and clapping and I thought, ‘surely not?’
“It was a great way to end the day but every shot is important for me this week given the situation I am in. I have been playing well this year but having bad weekends so hopefully this will be the time I turn that around. I am trying not to think too much about the card situation. I am not that far off the lead so I will go out tomorrow and try and win the tournament.”
Another man in a similar situation to Butterfield is his fellow countryman David Carter, who started the week in 120th place on the Order of Merit and who gave himself a chance of moving up into the top 118 with a third round 69 for a three over par total of 213 and a share of 17th place.
“It is a very difficult week because there is a lot of pressure considering what is at stake – it is tough, but we have to deal with it,” he said. “I am trying to have fun out there but it is a tough golf course and is very tricky and it takes all your concentration.
“It is difficult to ignore the situation we are in and the situation around all the guys in my position, but I just have to go out and try and play well on the golf course. If I do that, then everything else will take care of itself.”
