Golf: Brutal bunker halts Campbell's charge at Open

Royal Troon finally bared its teeth at Michael Campbell yesterday as his British Open golf dream went up in three puffs of sand.

The New Zealand No 1 was flattened by the steep greenside bunker at the par-three 14th, from which Campbell needed three shots to extricate himself before stalking away with a triple-bogey six to plummet back to even par.

Having started the third round just three shots off the pace, Campbell's three-over 74 dropped him to one-under overall, seven shots adrift of surprise 54-hole leader, American Todd Hamilton.

It was cruel fall from grace for Campbell who began cautiously, was doused by a brutal 20-minute storm whipped up in the Firth of Clyde, then watched several birdie chances slip by the hole.

But he hauled his round up from the canvas with a monster 60-foot birdie putt on the 10th to be within four shots of an ever-changing lead.

Four holes later and what looked a promising comeback turned to disaster when his mid-iron into the breeze on the 163m 14th trickled over the lip of its steepest bunker.

Two swipes of the wedge sent only sand flying greenwards, the third flew 15 feet past the hole and two putts later the carnage was complete.

Understandably, Campbell's mood reflected the dark clouds rumbling overhead as Troon delivered all four seasons in a day.

"It was quite tough, we played the first four holes in tough conditions. I missed a few short ones, some good opportunities," Campbell said.

"I was just cruising along then all of a sudden I left two shots in the bunker. I made amends two holes later but I'm seven behind.

"It's a funny game, another day tomorrow and you never know," he added blankly before departing abruptly for the locker room.

On what they call "moving day" at the majors, Campbell struggled to get out of first gear as his Fijian playing partner Vijay Singh also remained in neutral.

After rounds of 67 and 71, Campbell claimed to feel comfortable on the British Open leaderboard at his best start to a major tournament with his early mentor in Europe, Greg Turner, offering encouragement from behind the ropes.

His mood was boosted further by watching the All Blacks beat the Wallabies 16-7 in Wellington on television just hours earlier.

But unlike the first day when Campbell attacked the early holes downwind, this time he was more measured as he employed irons off the tee as the breeze fluctuated.

The putter also deserted him on occasion. He missed a five-foot putt for par on the second then couldn't nail a birdie chance from the same distance on the fourth after the roar of a 737 taking off from nearby Prestwick Airport caused him to step away.

More birdie misses followed at five, six and seven as Campbell and world No 3 Singh seemed to feed off each other's misfortune.

Singh had a horror start to the back nine just as Campbell was recovering, with consecutive double bogeys at 11 and 12 snuffing out his challenge as he ended with a 76 to be one-over for the tournament.

Meanwhile, the roars were coming from all around the course as Tiger Woods birdied three of his first four holes, Frenchman Thomas Levet raced to nine-under before slipping back, and local favourite Colin Montgomerie stayed in touch to be three-under with the crowd hauling him along.

Woods' challenge stalled a fraction but he still shot a 68 to move to four-under while three big names were right on Hamilton's tail.

South African world No 2 Ernie Els also shot 68 to be one shot behind Hamilton at seven-under while Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen were looming on six-under after both also shot 68s.

- NZPA