Stuart Manley of Wales will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Hong Kong Open on Sunday as he heads a tightly-packed leaderboard.
A total of 13 players are within four shots of the leader at Fanling including three-time champion Miguel Angel Jimenez who is now very much within striking distance just two back following a joint best-of-the-day 65.
Manley - who shot to prominence at the World Cup of Golf last month where he followed a hole-in-one with an 11, before finally finishing in a tie for eighth - compiled a 66 to finish 'moving day' at 10-under-par.
The 34-year-old, whose best finish in a regular European Tour event was a tie for ninth in Mallorca in 2011, mixed six birdies with a couple of bogeys to maintain his solid progress after consecutive 67s.
"Pretty much from the first hole onwards, every iron shot was right down the pin," said Manley. "If it had been a good day on the greens it could have been a really low round, so it was disappointing not to capitalise, but I feel very confident the way I'm playing and I'm really excited about Sunday.
"I wanted to be leading after three rounds, and I wanted to be in the last group, so I'm delighted. There's a lot of golf left, but winning would mean the world."
Unfortunate bounce
One of Manley's blemishes came at the 16th, where his approach landed on a sprinkler head on the fringe of the green and cannoned 60 feet beyond the pin.
"I was really unlucky there," he added. "I landed the ball in the perfect position but it hit the sprinkler and went to the back of the green.
"That was disappointing, but I was pleased to get back to 10 under with a birdie at the 17th."
Manley stands one clear of India's Shiv Kapur and Wade Ormsby of Australia who, like the leader, also both carded rounds of 66 on Saturday.
Defending champion Jimenez finds himself alongside England's Steve Webster and fellow Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara at eight-under, with Joel Sjoholm, Alex Cejka and Prom Meesawat a further shot back.
Overnight leader Jbe Kruger saw his chances of victory all but evaporate on the back of a disappointing three-over 73 that included four bogeys and a double.
That left the South African six shots off the pace down in a tie for 21st at four-under-par.
0 comments:
Post a Comment