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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pace-Setting Parnevik Looks Out Of This World

Thomas Bonk Los Angeles Times

First contact: Jesper Parnevik, who could be at home on a golf course or in orbit, is your leader with one day left at the British Open.

Now this is really big news back in his homeland of Sweden, not to mention in one of his other lifetimes, which Parnevik is virtually certain he has had.

The 32-year-old from Stockholm (and who knows where else) is a believer in reincarnation, volcanic sand as a dietary supplement, mental imagery, New Age dentistry and of course, birdies.

On a sunny Saturday at Royal Troon, Parnevik shot a second consecutive 5-under-par 66, giving him a two-shot lead over Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke in the 126th Open championship.

Parnevik even two-putted for a birdie from 70 yards out in the middle of the fairway on the seventh hole, laughing all the way.

With seven birdies and two bogeys, Parnevik made it look easy, possibly because he has played this course before when he was somebody else.

His 54-hole total of 202 is 11 under par and is probably a karma enhancer if there ever was one.

“It feels like all the negative thoughts have gone,” Parnevik said. “I just had positive adrenaline flowing.”

It’s a nice thing, to be sure, but Parnevik has taken steps to make certain his current lifetime is as worthwhile as humanly possible.

For instance, Parnevik decided to replace his silver fillings with porcelain in order to improve his karma. He imagines his golf ball to be a pea and pictures it flying like a banana. The pea scenario comes in handy while putting because it makes the hole appear larger, Parnevik said.

During his flight from his base in South Palm Beach, Fla., Parnevik wore glasses with flashing lights to help ensure a safe flight.

Yes, the guy in the cap with the flipped-up brim is the sweet-swinging son of a Swedish comedian, but there is nothing funny about the way he has taken control of the British Open.

“Jesper knows what he’s doing,” Clarke said.

This assessment must be unsettling to everyone else who is chasing him. Uh oh, the pilot of this spaceship is in warp drive.

Clarke had a four-shot lead after nine holes but lost his way on the back side with four bogeys that included a three-putt on No. 18.

Fred Couples and Justin Leonard are four shots behind at 6-under 207. Couples, who is trying to win a second major to go along with his 1992 Masters triumph, holed out from the fairway from 168 yards to eagle the 11th and finished with a 70. Leonard struggled his way around and finished with a 72.

Meanwhile, consider the path Tiger Woods took - from 4 over par to 3 under. Woods tied the Royal Troon course record with a 64 and moved into a tie for eighth place, eight shots behind Parnevik.

Woods made it appear simple. Of course, Troon isn’t all that scary if the wind isn’t blowing, and there was barely enough to stir the flags on the flagsticks.

What was really scary was what Woods said after matching Greg Norman’s final-round 64 in 1989: He said he can go even lower.

The way it went Saturday for Woods was one for the record books, even if he did it the hard way.

To begin with, he birdied three of the first four holes even though he hit only one fairway. He bogeyed the par-3 fifth when he missed the green, but then birdied No. 6 when he two-putted from 10 feet. He birdied No. 7 when he made a 12-footer after he drove into the gallery and bounced a ball off a spectator.

His 3-wood on No. 11 sailed into the gallery, from where he hit a wedge into the gorse and wound up with a bogey.

When Woods rolled in a 12-foot putt to birdie No. 12, he was at par for the tournament - after 48 holes. He didn’t remain there long.

Woods hit a 2-iron 252 yards and then a driver that left him a 15-foot putt for an eagle. He made it, of course. Woods missed the green to the left on No. 17, about 30 feet from the pin, but the ball bounced off the sidehill and rolled in for a birdie.

Jim Furyk’s third-round number was 70, which put him at 5-under-par 209 along with Eduardo Romero of Argentina and Stephen Ames of Trinidad and Tobago.

Lee Westwood of England and Robert Allenby of Australia are tied with Woods at 4-under 210, eight shots behind Parnevik, who likes having the lead - when he knows about it.

Parnevik lost the 1994 British Open to Nick Price by one shot when he didn’t look at the leaderboard the last seven holes at Turnberry. Parnevik thought he needed to birdie the 72nd hole to get into a playoff, but he actually needed only a par and wound up with a bogey when he played too aggressively.

All day Saturday, Parnevik said he watched the leaderboard very closely.

xxxx LEADERBOARD Scores Saturday after the third round of the 126th British Open on the 7,079-yard, par-71 Royal Troon Golf Club course: Jesper Parnevik 70-66-66 202 Darren Clarke 67-66-71 204 Fred Couples 69-68-70 207 Justin Leonard 69-66-72 207 Jim Furyk 67-72-70 209 Stephen Ames 74-69-66 209 Eduardo Romero 74-68-67 209