Golf: Hedblom fires two eagles to soar into contention

MAMARONECK - Sweden's Peter Hedblom has produced a double dose of eagle magic to shoot into contention early in the third round of the US Open golf championship at Winged Foot.

A hole-in-one at the third and a long eagle putt at the 515-yard par-five fifth, swept Hedblom from six over par to two over, three shots behind overnight leader Steve Stricker of the United States.

Warm and muggy conditions greeted golfers on Saturday local time with contenders anxious not to move backwards in the exacting demands of Winged Foot.

Hedblom, however, gave cause for optimism that good scores could be posted on the classic Winged Foot layout, at 7264 yards the longest ever to host a US Open.

Stricker, at one-under 139, was the only player in the 156-man field to stand under par after the first 36 holes.

He held a one-shot lead over Briton Colin Montgomerie, with whom he was teeing off as the final pairing at 3.00pm (7.00am NZ time).

Australian Geoff Ogilvy and Briton Kenneth Ferrie were two strokes off the pace. Thirteen players in all were within five shots with another seven one more shot back as the day began.

Phil Mickelson, the PGA and Masters champion gunning for his third major title in a row, was at three over par.

Japan's Ryuji Imada gave further evidence under overcast skies that players might find scoring a touch easier Saturday as he shot one-under 69 to finish the third round at eight over.

- REUTERS