GIVEN that Simon Wakefield's nerves yesterday morning ensured he struggled to eat breakfast, one can only imagine what kind of state he will be in by tee off time this afternoon.
The Englishman's fine third round of 70 means he is not only the leading British player going into the final day but also has genuine, if private, aspirations of lifting the Claret Jug. At five over par, Wakefield has emerged as a quiet but serious c
ontender to beat some more illustrious names to Open glory.
"I was very nervous this morning over breakfast," admitted Wakefield after his Saturday round, which included two twos in a back nine of 34. "But I hit a few balls on the range and hit it as well as I have done all week, before getting off to a really nice start.
"I might not sleep a lot tonight, it is obviously very unfamiliar territory for me this week. I'm familiar with the position of leading a championship, but certainly not the Open."
Wakefield only took up golf at the age of 15, having been inspired by Sandy Lyle's Masters triumph in 1988, and was a scratch player within two years. He was defeated in a playoff in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles a year ago and his best Open finish was two years ago, when he tied for 48th place at Hoylake. Disaster aside, the man whose uncle is the former England wicketkeeper, Bob Taylor, should dramatically improve that statistic today.
His hitherto career highlight came in 2005, when he won the Dimension Data Pro-am in Sun City, only months after being forced to regain his European Tour card via qualifying school.
"Five over is an irrelevant score," added Wakefield, bizarrely a Port Vale supporter who has purchased a season ticket for Stoke City following their promotion to the Premiership. "If it was five under, it would make no difference; position obviously is the key.
"I'm just going out tomorrow in the same frame of mind as today, I'll try to be patient. I appreciate that everybody else is going to make bogeys and double bogeys."
Wakefield's rise into contention was even more striking given that he had to contend with arguably the worst of yesterday afternoon's testing conditions. He even chose to sit and wait by the eighth green for 10 minutes before taking on a birdie putt amid concerns that the ball may move after address.
"I was not comfortable with playing the putt because we were getting gusts of 30 miles an hour," he explained. "With that green being so exposed and the significance of the tournament, I wasn't prepared to putt with the gusts coming.
"I spoke to one of the referees and they had a similar situation on the 10th a few minutes earlier, so it was basically just a case of hanging on and waiting for the wind to die down a little."
Although he had never played at Birkdale before this week, Wakefield watched his friend from amateur golf, Justin Rose, in the Open here a decade ago. He was also in the crowd when Ian Baker Finch won seven years earlier.
Could Wakefield be the next Birkdale hero? "That's a long way off my mind at the moment," he stressed. "There is a lot of golf to be played. It is a world-class field and I'm not even going to be thinking of that tonight. It is a fairytale situation, to be honest."
Wakefield's compatriot, Ross Fisher, also remains in the hunt after a 71 left him seven over after 54 holes. "I'm over the moon," said Fisher, who partnered the charismatic Anthony Kim. "It was ridiculously tough out there so I'm delighted with 71.
"I am thoroughly enjoying my Open experience. I'm in good form, good spirits and confidence is high. I'm looking forward to tomorrow now, I'm just thinking of going out, shooting as low as I can and seeing what happens."
Graeme Storm is a shot further back following a 72, alongside the amateur Chris Wood, who carded 73 and remains on course to collect the silver medal.
The full article contains 695 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
