Tim Conley may have failed in his recent bid to gain a PGA Tour playing card but, after yesterday's saga at the18th, he can appreciate how Frenchman, Jean Van de Velde felt after his dramatic collapse in the 1999 British Open.

The last at Belmont Golf Club is not on a par with Carnoustie's Home Hole, which is characterised by the Barry Burn, but a quadruple bogey eight has made the 26th Gosling's-Foster's Belmont Invitation Championships a wide-open affair.

Conley remains the leader, by two strokes after a four-over-par round of 74 for 213 overall, but Dwayne Pearman, the local favourite, is back in the hunt after a 69 yesterday while Delroy Cambridge, of Jamaica, lurks on 217 after a round of 73.

Andrew Trott, the Southampton Princess pro, threatened to make an impression after a blistering outward nine of 32, but a series of double bogeys have effectively ended his challenge as he finished with a 75 and lies eight strokes off the pace.

Joey McRonald Jr., the only amateur among the lead foursome, suffered a miserable day that took on nightmarish proportions once he made the turn. Four-over for the front nine was not a bad return considering he went triple bogey, bogey on Nos 2 and 3. But 46 on the inward nine led to an ugly 84 and he enters the final round with his priorities refocused to a duel for amateur honours with Dave Purcell, who claimed the lead in that category by a stroke after gaining nine strokes yesterday.

But the story of the day, albeit late developing, was Conley's free-fall from grace. In an attempt to shut the door on Pearman and Co. going into the last round, Conley went with the driver and promptly lost it into the trees to the right. His provisional, the first of two he hit with the recalled two-iron, landed in the fairway bush, which prompted a penalty drop. An approach shot into the greenside bunker, a poor bunker shot and two putts from 25 feet essentially left a sour taste.

Nevertheless, quite like Van de Velde, who won admirers the world over for the manner in which he rationalised losing a three-stroke lead at the 72nd hole of a major championship, Conley was coolness personified in the clubhouse afterward. "I've hit a two-iron both times (the first two rounds) and I can't reach the green," he said of his choice to go with the driver. "I had been driving it good but I was quick all day long. I didn't trust it and let it go to the right. I had a six-shot lead. If I hit the driver and make birdie now I've got a seven-stroke lead. But there's no reason to . aagh! I probably should have played conservative there.

The chinks in the Conley armour, while not obvious, were beginning to show earlier as he failed to capitalise on a series of opportunities to blow away the field on another windswept day at Belmont.

"Four times I hit last into the green on Nos 3, 8, 9 and 13, 8," he said. "Nobody's hit a good shot on the green and I'm there with a chance but I missed all the greens."

Over that sequence, the Georgia native shockingly surrendered three strokes to par. He also took a double bogey on the ninth but had birdies on the first, 10th, 12th and 16th before disaster struck. "I was brain dead on 18," he concluded. "Maybe that's why I never won on the PGA Tour - too many mistakes, lack of concentration, lack of discipline. I'll straighten that out tomorrow."

While Conley was cursing his dip in form, Trott, who is at 22 the youngest of the contenders by a distance, showed his inexperience after closing to within three strokes of the leader. After a tidy birdie at No 11, he attempted to drive the 301-yard par-four 12th and came up short - and out of bounds. He carded a double bogey and produced similar scores in relation to par at the 14th and 16th as his challenge evaporated.

Continued from Page 21