Golf:England's Mark Foster, with fresh memories of losing three-shot leads on the final day, was two ahead with a round to go at the BMW International Open in Munich.
The 35-year-old from Worksop also the home of world number two Lee Westwood has won only once in 278 starts on the European Tour and that was eight years ago. But he stood 14 under par after a third-round 66 and saw his advantage doubled when joint halfway leader George Coetzee finished his 70 with a bogey six.
That dropped the South African into a tie for second with compatriot Retief Goosen, England’s Robert Coles and Spanish pair Pablo Larrazabal and back-to-form Sergio Garcia up from 30th with a best-of-the-day 64.
As for Swede Henrik Stenson, who shared top spot overnight, he put two balls in the water on the long 11th and three-putted for a quadruple bogey nine before finishing with a hat-trick of birdies to be five behind.
Foster was three ahead at both last year’s Spanish Open and this season’s Andalucian Open, but finished third and fourth respectively.
“I know I’ve got it in me it flicks in and out,” said the former English amateur champion. “I’ve done it enough times to know that anything can happen.
“I’ve not been playing so much so I can be mentally stronger. That’s my plan for this year and I will see how it goes.
“That was the key today. I’m making the right decisions and if something goes wrong I’m reacting in the right way.”
Garcia’s charge gives him the chance not only to register his first victory for over two and a half years he fell from second in the world to outside the top 80 in that time but also rescue a place in next month’s British Open at Sandwich.
Joint seventh at last week’s US Open, the 31-year-old grabbed nine birdies after starting the day six behind and even led on his own for a while.
A top-four finish could give Garcia one of two Open places up for grabs off a mini-money list that has been running on the European Tour for the past month. But there is hot competition for them. Foster could take one by coming second and Coles by winning.
“I knew for British Open purposes I needed to do something special,” said Garcia, who a month ago pulled out of a qualifying event in America because of an infected fingernail.
“Last week was good — it was nice to be up there in a major again. I didn’t have a chance to win because Rory (McIlroy) was playing out of his mind, but it feels like the game is coming along and I think my putting is definitely improving.”
Garcia, who made it into the US Open only through a qualifying play-off, has not missed a major since the 1999 Open the one in which he finished dead last after rounds of 89 and 83 at Carnoustie.
Peter Lawrie, the only Irish golfer to survive the cut, slipped back down the leaderboard to six under after carding a one-over 73 that included birdies at the first and 18th and three bogeys in between.
