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| November 17, 2003 | Monday | Ramazan 21, 1424 |
Sabbatini takes 7-shot lead
KIAWAH ISLAND,(South Carolina), Nov 16: South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman combined to shoot a nine-under-par 63 and build a seven-stroke third-round lead at the World Golf Championship-World Cup on Saturday.
South Africa are at 14-under-par 202 after the four-ball format at the par-72, 7,296-yard Ocean Course.
The United States (68) and France (68) are tied for second at seven-under-par 209 with Germany (67) and Sweden (67) equal fourth at five-under 211.
Sabbatini and Immelman birdied six of the first seven holes en route to the lowest round of the week. They shot a two-under 70 in the first round when the four-ball format was also used.
South Africa are seeking their fifth World Cup title in the event’s 50-year history after Ernie Els and Retief Goosen picked up their fourth crown in 2001.
Sabbatini birdied the first three holes and, following a par at the par-four fourth, Immelman birdied the next three holes — the shortest of his three birdie putts being from 15 feet.
After an outward six-under 30, the South Africans cooled, but only slightly. Sabbatini birdied the par-five 11th and par-four 12th and Immelman added a birdie at the par-four 16th.
Weather conditions were ideal for scoring with 11 under-par scores in the 23-team field and a scoring average of 69.217, more than six strokes lower than Friday’s 75.783 average.
France and the United States struggled to stay close to the leaders.
Thomas Levet birdied the eighth and ninth holes as France went out in three-under 33 before Raphael Jacquelin birdied the 14th and 15th. However, a bogey at the par-five 16th stalled their momentum.
Americans Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk birdied three of the first six holes, sinking birdie putts no longer than 15 feet. They then missed an opportunity to birdie the 568-yard, par-five seventh, which has played as the easiest hole this week.
Scores
202 - Trevor Immelman/Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 70-69-66
209 - Jim Furyk/Justin Leonard (USA) 71-70-68, Thomas Levet/Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 69-72-68
210 - Alex Cejka/Marcel Siem (GER) 67-77-66
211 - Fredrik Jacobson/Niclas Fasth (SWE) 72-72-67
212 - Ignacio Garrido/Miguel Angel Jimenez (SPA) 71-75-66, Paul Casey/Justin Rose (ENG) 73-73-66, Ian Woosnam/Bradley Dredge (WAL) 68-74-70, Paul Lawrie/Alastair Forsyth (SCO) 71-73-68
213 - Eduardo Romero/Angel Cabrera (ARG) 70-73-70
215 - Carlos Franco/Marco Ruiz (PAR) 70-75-70
216 - Shigeki Maruyama/Hidemichi Tanaka (JPN) 74-71-71
217 - Michael Campbell/David Smail (NZL) 71-74-72, Padraig Harrington/Paul McGinley (IRE) 74-77-66, K.J. Choi/S.K. Ho (KOR) 71-75-71.—Reuters
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