LLOYD SALTMAN CLICKETY-CLICKS IN THIRD
ROUND OF SAIL OPEN IN INDIA

Rookie pro Lloyd Saltman shot a third round, six under par 66 in
blustery conditions to move into a share of 17th place in the inaugural
SAIL Open at New Delhi today. Saltman had earlier rounds of 70 and 75
and is on the five under par 211 mark.
New Zealand's Mark Brown produced a 67 in blustery conditions to grab
the lead at 11 under par 205. He is one ahead of Australian Scott Hend
who had a 69 and Asian Tour rookie Rhys Davies from Wales, a Walker Cup
team-mate of Saltman. Rhys had a 67.
Joint overnight leader Jyoti Randhawa of India overcame a shaky start
which saw him go three over par after seven holes before bouncing back
with a 72 to keep his title hopes alive. The Indian star was tied
fourth, two off the pace, alongside compatriot Gaganjeet Bhullar,
Malaysia's Danny Chia and Australian Adam Groom, who all carded
matching 69s in the US$400,000 event.
Another Australian, Kane Webber (68) made a big move up from 23rd to
eighth on 208 while Korean Noh Seung-yul (71), Singaporean Mardan Mamat
(69) and veteran Wang Ter-Chang of Chinese Taipei (73) completed the
top-10. The three were tied for ninth on 209.
Brown revelled in the tough conditions, saying it felt like playing at
home. "It was quite like Wellington where I have played a lot of my
golf. It is a nice course and I enjoyed myelf."
Now playing in his second full season on the Asian Tour, Brown added,
"I had a good season last year and finished in 15th place on the Order
of Merit and this year has been a decent start where I was tied fifth
in Indonesia (last week) and 35th in the Indian Masters.
"The leaderboard is pretty congested and I like to attack. There is not
much trouble on the course and it all depends on your club selection."
India seems to bring the best out of Brown as he enjoyed a joint fifth
outing in last year's Hero Honda Indian Open. "I love playing in India.
It is a fantastic place and right now it has a great climate to play
golf and India is coming up in a big way."
Welshman Davies, the former British boys amateur champion in 2003,
turned professional only in late 2007 but showed his growing potential
despite a roller-coaster round with seven birdies, five of which came
in his opening seven holes, an eagle, two bogeys and a double bogey.
"It was a pretty up and down round. It was rather breezy and windy and
the 16th and 18th were particularly tough. I just kept calm and kept
going and generated a few birdies and holed a few good putts like the
20-footer on 15th (for an eagle)," said Davies, who earned his Asian
Tour card through Qualifying School last December.
Randhawa, Asia's number one in 2002 and a seven-time winner, struggled
early on in the round and blamed a late night of catching up with his
family for his sluggish start. "I was tired as I slept a little late
last night," admitted Randhawa, who is staying with his sister this
week.
"I could not concentrate early on and in no time I was three
shots down with a double and a bogey. "But I made a great recovery from
there and any time, you are two or so behind the leader it is a nice
position to be in."
Young Bhullar, whom many reckon could be India's next star in the
making, played steady golf, holding his big-hitting well in the face of
gusting winds. His 69 was built around a stunning eagle on the par-five
12th, where his smashed a drive of over 400 yards.
Bhullar, second at the Pertamina President Indonesia Invitational last
year, followed that up with a textbook pitch to 20 feet, which he duly
holed for the eagle and lead. But he dropped back with a bogey on 16th,
which he said was his first bad shot of the day. " I had a steady day
and had a good eagle, just like yesterday," said Bhullar.
THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
205 - Mark Brown (NZL) 69-69-67
206 - Rhys Davies (WAL) 70-69-67, Scott Hend (AUS) 67-70-69
207 - Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 70-68-69, Danny Chia (MAS) 68-70-69, Adam
Groom (AUS) 67-71-69, Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 67-68-72
208 - Kane Webber (AUS) 70-70-68
209 - Mardan Mamat (SIN) 71-69-69, Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 68-70-71, Wang
Ter-chang (TPE) 69-67-73
210 - Richard Lee (NZL) 72-69-69, Ashok Kumar (IND) 70-69-71, Peter
Cooke (AUS) 67-72-71, Angelo Que (PHI) 68-70-72, Tony Carolan (AUS)
66-69-75
211 - Adam Blyth (AUS) 71-71-69, Ted Oh (KOR) 73-66-72, Neven Basic
(AUS) 70-69-72, Lloyd Saltman (SCO) 70-75-66
212 - Harinder Gupta (IND) 69-70-73, Guido Van Der Valk (NLD) 72-67-73,
Ross Bain (SCO) 66-71-75