Renaissance time for the old guard

THEY'VE both won the US Masters, they're both fortysomethings, they both turned to the long putter, they both started out yesterday five shots behind Colin Montgomerie and now they're leading the British Open. Not in splendid isolation mind, but for Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam, the possibility of another major championship has unexpectedly reared its head.

Playing against each other and off each other, this venerable two- ball with 70 victories in Europe and America between them, both had 67s and are at the top of the Lytham pile along with David Duval and Alex Cejka.

Surprised? You could say that. Langer has been struggling with a bad back that forced him out of last week's Scottish Open, while Woosnam hasn't won anywhere since 1997. "Actually, I'm not that surprised Ian's in contention because his swing's as good as it ever has been," said Langer.

As for Woosnam, a recent comment about being fed up with golf has haunted him and he wanted some redemption. "I don't think I should've opened my mouth. I am in love with golf and I'm going to play as much as I can. I think the game is fantastic and I'm going to play 52 weeks of the year, Christmas Day as well. Get rid of that crap."

There certainly wasn't much crap out on the course. Woosnam reached the turn in a tidy one-under par 35 with a birdie at the sixth and then his round really gained momentum with an eagle at the par-five 11th where a superb 2-iron to five feet made the putt easy.

Where most of the field struggled, Woosnam typically improved his position over Lytham's challenging closing holes. There was a dropped shot at the 16th, but that concession was bookended by birdies at both the 15th and the 17th. If anything, a 67 could have been better.

"I think half the battle is that I may be too aggressive on these sorts of courses," he explained, "I don't think my way around enough and I don't play to the middle of the greens enough. Maybe, I'm getting a bit older and starting to knock it into the middle of the green now. Obviously, when you're not playing well, running around the world and bashing your head against the wall, you get fed up. But my swing has improved, it's getting back to what it used to be."

Langer could also have found himself all alone at the top. His 2- iron tee shot at the last was swept into a bunker and a bogey five followed. "I'm not 100% fit and I'm still getting a lot of treatment, but both Ian and I were close to our best out there. I've accumulated a lot of prize money on the US Tour this season, but I haven't won for four years. So, this would be nice."

The master of understatement wasn't going to be drawn out on the Ryder Cup situation. Badly stung when he wasn't given a wild card by Mark James, victory here would rule out any controversy for the matches in September. "I don't think I can say anything about that, my golf has to do the talking, not me. Hopefully, my play will convince Sam Torrance to pick me if I don't make the top 10."

Both Woosnam and Langer now have a chance to relive past glories, but not together as Woosnam is paired with Cejka for today's fourth round while Langer is in the final match with Duval. The mutual admiration was evident with the former teammates still quietly fancying their Ryder Cup chances this year. However, if the two wind up in a play-off, that admiration will be on hold for a while.

(Gbr and Irl unless stated) (x) denotes amateur 08:25 S Henderson, T Levet (Fra) 08:35 S Lyle, D Smail (Nzl) 08:45 A Balicki (Fra), G Brand Jnr 08:55 B Estes (USA), N Cheetham 09:05 P Lonard (Aus), JM Olazabal (Spa) 09:15 S Appleby (Aus), R Sabbatini (Rsa) 09:25 B Chamblee (USA), J Rose 09:35 P Harrington, F Lickliter (USA) 09:45 C Franco (Par), S Cink (USA) 09:55 R Allenby (Aus), D Love (USA) 10:05 JP Hayes (USA), P Mickelson (USA) 10:25 B Lane, C DiMarco (USA) 10:35 M Calcavecchia (USA), L Westwood 10:45 M Gogel (USA), P Price 10:55 M Campbell (Nzl), P Curry 11:05 A Scott (Aus), B Faxon (USA) 11:15 T Taniguchi (Jpn), R Green (Aus) 11:25 P McGinley, S Verplank (USA) 11:35 M Ilonen (Fin), A Coltart 11:45 T Woods (USA), S Stricker (USA) 11:55 D Waldorf (USA), D Hart (USA) 12:05 K Sutherland (USA), M O'Meara (USA) 12:15 V Singh (Fij), (x) D Dixon 12:35 P Lawrie, N Fasth (Swe) 12:45 E Romero (Arg), L Roberts (USA) 12:55 N Vanhootegem (Bel), G Owen 13:05 D Smyth, B Andrade (USA) 13:15 R Goosen (Rsa), S Garcia (Spa) 13:25 E Els (Rsa), C Montgomerie 13:35 P Fulke (Swe), J Parnevik (Swe) 13:45 J Ogilvie (USA), R Jacquelin (Fra) 13:55 D Clarke, N Price (Zim) 14:05 B Mayfair (USA), MA Jimenez (Spa) 14:15 A Cejka (Ger), I Woosnam 14:25 B Langer (Ger), D Duval (USA)

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