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Casey regains advantage in merit race

29/10/2006

Paul Casey recovered from the bout of food poisoning that plagued his opening two rounds at the Volvo Masters as his rivals for the European Order of Merit prize, Padraig Harrington and David Howell, failed to capitalise.

Casey returned a round of level par and could only sit in the clubhouse and hope that his rivals made a slip that would give him a chance to cement his advantage on the last day.

The Englishman said after his round: "I'm going to be a spectator tomorrow, although I suppose if I play well I can make it harder for Padraig."

Howell made five birdies in the first seven holes and sat at the top of the leaderboard at that stage. However a further four bogies in the round, one coming on the final hole, left him with a one under round, three shots behind the lead.

He explained his reverse in fortune: "I had an easy sand-wedge in, came up short and three-putted. I was in a nice little zone until that happened."

Irishman Harrington dropped four strokes on the back nine having also made a bright start and ended up one over for the round and four shots behind in the overall standings.

The leader going into the final round is India's Jeev Milkha Singh on three under, while Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood are amongst a bunch one shot behind.

Casey can now put pressure on Harrington and Howell as any places he can pick up on the final day increases his chances of claiming the merit title.

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