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Hamilton Tries to Hold Off Els at British

Posted on: Sunday, 18 July 2004, 06:00 CDT

TROON, Scotland - Todd Hamilton, a largely unknown 38-year-old American who labored for 12 years on the Japanese tour before making it to the PGA Tour last year, pulled within reach of the British Open title with a birdie on the 16th hole. The only player with a chance to snatch the claret jug from him was Ernie Els, who birdied the 16th and 17th holes to get to 10 under, one shot behind.

Phil Mickelson made a run at Hamilton but couldn't catch him. He made par on the 18th to finish with a 68 and stay at 9 under.

Mickelson and Els made key mistakes on the difficult back nine. Mickelson bogeyed the par-4 13th hole, and Els double-bogeyed the par-4 10th.

Hamilton followed his bogey-free third round with two bogeys Sunday, but birdies on the 11th and 14th holes put him alone in the lead.

Lee Westwood shot a 67 to finish at 6 under, and Thomas Levet was still on the course at 5 under. Tiger Woods shot a 1-over 72 to finish at 3-under 281.

Hamilton played the first three rounds as if he belonged with the game's elite players, and he showed incredible poise Saturday with a bogey-free round.

When the umbrellas replaced sunglasses for the final time, the British Open looked eerily familiar: Last year, at Royal St. George's, all the best players were poised to hold the claret jug and it went to an unknown rookie named Ben Curtis.

"I don't see why it can't happen again," Hamilton said.

The only difference is that no one paid any attention to Curtis until he was holding the silver jug, courtesy of a chain-reaction of collapses behind him.

Hamilton will be under the spotlight from the start, holding a one-shot lead over Els. The Big Easy birdied three of the last six holes and is playing in the final group at a major for the second straight time.

Still, the man to beat might be Mickelson.

No longer bedeviled by links golf, Lefty has gone 37 consecutive holes without a bogey and got two big breaks down the stretch for a 68 that put him at 6-under 207. Mickelson will play in the next-to-last group with Goosen, the South African who beat him last month at Shinnecock Hills. Goosen had a 68.

"It's cool how we see a lot of top players, and also see quality players you may not have thought on Thursday would be here," Mickelson said. "It's going to make for some very interesting, fun, exciting television."

Also at 207 was France's Levet, who got to 9 under until two gaffes cost him three shots - a three-putt from 12 feet for double bogey on No. 12, and two shots to get out of a pot bunker on the 17th for a bogey.

Lane, an Englishman, also had a share of the lead at one point, but the 44-year-old who cost Europe the Ryder Cup in 1993 took double bogey on the 17th and bogeyed the 18th for a 71 to finish at 208.

Woods hasn't been in Sunday contention at a major since the British Open last year, and he gave himself a chance with four birdies on his first seven holes for a 68. Still, the world's No. 1 player has made only one birdie on the back nine all week, and that left him farther back than he would have liked.

Weir birdied two of the last three holes for a 71 and was at 210 with Colin Montgomerie (72) and Skip Kendall, the 36-hole leader who failed to make a birdie in his round of 75.

"This is a hell of a leaderboard," Els said. "This is quality players, players that have proven themselves throughout the years. And you've got some new guys that really want to break through. I think it's set for quite a finish."

It all starts with Hamilton, who spent a dozen years in places like Singapore and Pakistan and Kuala Lumpur, trying to keep alive his hopes of playing in the big leagues. He finally got his PGA Tour card in December, and if anyone doubts his mettle, consider what he did in March - birdies on the last two holes to beat Davis Love III in the Honda Classic.

"I'm not one to shy away," Hamilton said.

He sure didn't in an exacting third round, when sunshine gave way to clouds, strong wind, 15 minutes of cold rain and then only a mild breeze off the Firth of Clyde that ushered in more sunshine - all this in a three-hour stretch.

Hamilton made simple birdies on the par 5s, holed a 20-foot birdie from the fringe on the Postage Stamp eighth hole and took the lead with a 6-iron that stopped rolling 3 feet from the flag on the par-3 14th. What saved his round were six up-and-downs for par, a glimpse of his grit.

Mickelson needed a little luck.

Flawless the last two rounds, his 3-wood was sailing to the right and he knew he was in trouble. But the ball hit the gallery and settled on a tiny patch of dirt so close to being out of bounds that he was standing on the road.

"It should have gone out of bounds," he said. "It was clearly a tremendous break."

On the final hole, his drive was headed for the grandstand when it hit the metal railing that holds back the gallery, landing in a decent lie in the yellow grass.

Mickelson has never finished in the top 10 at a British Open. Then again, he had never won a major until this year.

"This year has been different," Mickelson said.

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