North Carolina State University Athletics
Late Round Lapse Leaves Pettersson Five Behind At British Open
7/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 20, 2002
Carl Pettersson was doggedly staying near the top of the leaderboard in the third round of the British Open golf championship until a disappointing finish ruined his day. Fighting through what can only be described as brutal weather conditions at the Muirfield Golf Links, the former NC State golfer went bogey, double bogey on the final two holes to card a 5-over par 76 which will leave him five strokes behind leader Ernie Els heading into Sunday's final round.
Pettersson, who makes his home in Raleigh, now stands at even par for the championship. Els rebounded from a front-nine 40 to shoot 72 in the third round and now stands 5-under par for the tournament, good enough for a two-shot lead over Soren Hansen.
How bad were the weather conditions on Saturday? Consider the fact that pre-tournament favorite Tiger Woods shot a 10-over par 81 to fall 11 strokes off the pace.
Yet, the rain, wind and cold temperatures didn't seem to both Pettersson most of the day. As he approached the 17th tee, Pettersson was just 1-over for the day and -3 for the championship. But a bogey 5 on the 17th was followed by a double-bogey 6 on the 18th to push the native of Sweden further down the leaderboard.
