Oliver Wilson showed the skill and tenacity needed to star in the Ryder Cup but Nick Dougherty is making him sweat as the battle for places in Nick Faldo’s European team goes down to the wire.
Wilson shot 68 and Dougherty carded 69 in the third round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on Saturday, which means the year-long race to compete in next month’s Ryder Cup will be decided on the final day in Scotland.
While Frenchman Gregory Havret stayed out in front in the tournament — a closing birdie gave him a 69 and took him to 11 under par, one in front of England’s Anthony Wall — 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 and joint 25th with a round to go.
But Dougherty, who needs to finish second to have a chance, is tied for 16th on 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,” the 26-year-old said. “Ollie’s favorite, but I’ll see if I can make him sweat a bit.”
“It’s a big day,” he said. “The culmination of a year’s worth of golf comes down to one day. I played wonderfully 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. I needed a good score to keep the dream alive and I achieved that. But I need a great one tomorrow [Sunday],” Dougherty said.
Wilson is still in the driving seat and was odds-on to be cracking open the champagne with Justin Rose, Dane Soren Hansen and the two players given wild cards by captain Faldo last night. If Dougherty does get to second place on his own, Wilson will still edge him out of the team if he finishes 27th. Rose and Hansen, eighth and ninth in the standings, are eighth and third respectively in the event and are going great guns.
European Open champ Ross Fisher looked to have fallen out of contention when a 73 kept him at level par and dropped him to 46th. He requires a top-three finish.
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