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Ferrie and Mickelson head Open

18/06/2006

England's Kenneth Ferrie and America's Phil Mickelson will take a one shot lead into the final round of the US Open at Winged Foot.

The pair are on two-over par, but Ferrie had led for most of the third round before bogeying the last to drop back level with this year's US Masters champion.

The 27-year-old, competing in his first US Open, admitted afterwards that he was a little nervous about the final round but confident he could challenge for the title.

"It's my first time in this situation so it's going to be a bit daunting but if I keep doing what I've been doing there's no reason why I can't go out there and compete," Ferrie said.

Ferrie, who carded a one-over par 71, would be the first European to claim the US Open title since Tony Jacklin in 1970, while Mickelson, who shot a one-under par 69 on day three, is looking for his third major title in a row.

However, there are still plenty of players in contention, with Australian Geoff Ogilvy one shot behind after a 73 and a group of four three shots behind on five-over.

These include Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, who fell away slightly with a five-over par 75, England's Ian Poulter, Fiji's Vijay Singh and American Steve Stricker, who led at the halfway stage but carded a six-over par 76.

Poulter would have hoped to have been closer to the lead but after a good round, he had trouble on the final green and had to settle for a double-bogey and a level-par 70.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington is also just off the pace, currently sitting at six-over par after a four-over round of 74, while England's Luke Donald is one shot further adrift after a level-par round of 70.

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