Golf: Water torture for Faldo

THERE were some familiar names on the leaderboard and Nick Faldo's was not among them. Brandel Chamblee is big in Phoenix and Ed Dougherty is almost a household name in Linwood, Pennsylvania. Then there's Steve Lamontagne. He's from Melbourne, a small town 100 miles from here. Actually, he's a Turk, born in Izmir.

Lamontagne had his morning in the sun yesterday when he went to the turn in 29 in the third round of the Honda Classic at Weston Hills. The halfway cut was made at five over par and Lamontagne was one of those who made it with nothing to spare after the second round. He came home in 39 for a 68 which, if not record-breaking, at least indicated to the leaders what was possible on another hot, florid, Florida day. As it happened, the leaders would have given anything for a 68.

Faldo's round contained uncharacteristic adventures. He was going along swimmingly until he came to the 15th. He hit his approach on to the edge of a lake and rather than take a drop he donned his waterproofs. Taking an almost full swing he got the ball out of the water but not very far. He took a double bogey six which dropped him back to level par.

Faldo had a birdie at the 17th, one of the hardest holes to beat par, but there was more trouble waiting for him at the 18th. From water to terror firma. Only John Daly has reached the 18th (585 yards) in two. Faldo laid up with his second shot and hit his third to within three feet of the flag. A birdie four? A bogey six. He pushed the putt almost four feet past and missed the return.

Chamblee and Dougherty shared the lead at seven-under par going into the third round and were being pursued by a posse that included Nick Price, Curtis Strange, Daly, Bernhard Langer, Faldo and 42-year-old Bruce Lietzke.

If Lietzke is long in the tooth, Dougherty is longer. He is a 46-year-old club pro who has been hanging around the fringes of the tour since 1975. The club professional at Edgemont, Pennsylvania from 1982-90, Dougherty went from seven under to one under but Chamblee held on.

Chamblee, 31, has been on and off the circuit since 1988, going through the qualifying school four times. 'There's a comfort level out here that some guys attain quick, some guys take a while and some never reach,' Chamblee said. 'Everything has to do with confidence.'

Putting has been the area of weakness for most of the Europeans here. The greens, fast in the first place, have been getting faster and no matter how much you practice, if you don't play on these sort of courses on a regular basis you're carrying a big handicap. Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam are not confident on or around the greens and the weakest part of Daly's game has been his putting.

The non-drinking driver - grip it, rip it but don't sip it - has compiled rounds of 69, 70 and 73 on his comeback after a three-month suspension. Daly finished at one-under par, five strokes behind Chamblee. Chamblee, who had a 72, goes into today's final round with a two-stroke lead over Davis Love. A stroke further back are Lietzke, Craig Parry, Curtis Strange and Nick Price.

HONDA CLASSIC (Fort Lauderdale, Fla) Third round scores (US unless stated) 007 B Chamblee 67 68 72. 209 D Love 68 71 70. 210 C Parry (Aus) 68 73 69; C Strange 71 67 72; B Lietzke 68 68 74; N Price (Zim) 70 67 73. 211 D Edwards 70 72 69; B Fleischer 68 73 70. 212 J Daly 69 70 73; B Langer (Ger) 67 72 73; E Dougherty 70 65 77. 213 H Sutton 71 72 70; N Faldo (GB) 70 70 73; J Gallagher Jnr 68 71 74. Selected GB: 215 I Woosnam 72 71 72. 217 S Lyle 71 74 72.