A New Age at Troon

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 five-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 somewhat 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 six-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.

Couples said he was plain lucky at No. 11.

“I knew I’d hit a good one, but it was still lucky,” he said. “It bounced straight. They don’t always do that here.”

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

“I mean, I know Tiger thinks he still can win,” Parnevik said. “I am sure he can shoot zero on this course if he gets everything going, but . . . “

Woods isn’t going to say he can’t win, basically because he doesn’t go for that sort of thing.

“Well, I believe I still can; whether it happens or not, we’ll see. A lot of it has to do with the wind. If it stays like this, then I think even if I shoot a really good number, more than likely I probably won’t win, just because it’s so easy out there.”

Woods certainly 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, which would be a good idea to do, as soon as today.

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-three fifth when he missed the green, but then birdied No. 6 when he two-putted from 10 feet and No. 7 when he made a 12-footer after he drove into the gallery and bounced a ball off a spectator.

Woods continued to have trouble finding the fairways. His three-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 two-iron 252 yards and then a driver that left him a 15-foot putt for an eagle on No. 16. He made it, of course. Woods missed the green on No. 17, about 30 feet from the pin. He said he aimed for a spot on the slope, hit the ball three inches above it and watched the ball roll straight into the hole for a birdie.

From here on in, the journey doesn’t get any easier for Woods, not with seven players ahead of him.

“I still have to go out there and produce,” he said. “I’ve still got to go out there and execute and hit my shots and post a good number.”

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

Afterward, Furyk decided to feel good about being seven shots behind instead of worrying about it.

“I was 12 shots off the lead at one time, so seven isn’t too bad,” he said. “Realistically, there is still a chance, but I won’t be going to bed dreaming about winning.”

Lee Westwood of England and Robert Allenby of Australia are tied with Woods at four-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 scoreboard 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 scoreboard very closely.

“I usually look at the scoreboard,” he said. “It is just in ’94 that something strange happened.”

The way things are going around here, something strange may be happening again. Now pass the volcanic sand, please.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

LEADERS

Jesper Parnevik: 70-66-66--202 -11

Darren Clarke: 67-66-71--204 -9

Fred Couples: 69-68-70--207 -6

Justin Leonard: 69-66-72--207 -6

Jim Furyk: 67-72-70--209 -4

Stephen Ames: 74-69-66--209 -4

Eduardo Romero: 74-68-67--209 -4

* COMPLETE SCORES C4