Seve-like Donald shares lead with Manassero

VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - Luke Donald sprayed the ball around the course like Seve Ballesteros before fighting back to tie for the lead with Italian teenager Matteo Manassero after the PGA Championship third round on Saturday.

World number two Donald, normally so steady from tee to green, frequently found the trees and the rough at Wentworth as he dropped an unlikely five strokes in the opening six holes.

Donald though recovered brilliantly with a flawless four-birdie back nine giving him a one-over-par 72 and a five-under tally of 208.

Manassero, 18, the hottest young prospect in golf, continued to show maturity beyond his years as he finished with nine straight pars on another tough day for scoring to return a matching 72.

World number one Lee Westwood produced his second consecutive 69 to tie for third position with little-known Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti (69) on 210.

"I felt like Seve out there," Donald told reporters. "I was in trees with leaves all over my back and I was dropping balls in high grass and escaping from everywhere.

"I had to dig pretty deep and I found a few birdies and then I made a few crucial putts for birdies at 16 and 17 and for a par on 18. I made about 80 feet worth of putts there and that was a good way to finish."

The Briton took on an improbable escape shot between two pine trees at the 13th, much like the great Ballesteros would have done in his prime.

"It would have been an easy chip out to the fairway and I could have played for a bogey five there," said the 33-year-old. "The trees were about 20 yards ahead and there was probably a six-foot gap but I had a decent enough lie.

"I felt like I could get through there and create some left to right spin and I hit it perfectly. Sometimes you have to take risks and that one paid off," added Donald who will take over as world number one if he finishes ahead of Westwood on Sunday.

TRICKY PINS

While Donald was taking a few gambles to recover from his dreadful start, Manassero carefully plotted his way round the West Course in his bid to become the youngest winner of the PGA Championship.

"It feels fantastic to be leading with some tricky pin positions and tough weather out there," said the twice tour winner. "I'm a lucky 18-year-old."

Asked if he was strong enough psychologically to tackle the world number one and two on Sunday, Manassero replied: "I don't know, we'll see.

"I don't think it's going to be a mental battle on that course. I think it's going to be down to who plays and putts better."

Westwood, bidding to land the coveted title for the first time, said no one was ever going to produce a runaway victory this week.

"I am edging my way up there," said the 38-year-old Briton. "This is the kind of course where you have to do that.

"It has that feel of a major championship where you are just hanging around, trying not to make too many mistakes. It's not the kind of course where anybody was going to run away with it."

Westwood lost his footing while taking on a wedge shot from an awkward lie at the eighth hole and fell flat on his bottom.

"I'm not as nimble as I used to be. I had nowhere to go but my backside, fortunately it's big enough and tough enough to cushion the blow," he laughed.

Zanotti strung together seven successive threes in the middle of his round, a record for the European Tour's flagship event.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)