Saturday, January 23, 2010

Abu Dhabi Championship third-round news

Kaymer leads by one from Poulter and McIlroy

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Martin Kaymer’s bid for a second Abu Dhabi Golf Championship title gathered pace as the German took a slender one shot lead after the third round. He had a five-under-par 67 today for a 54-hole tally of 15-under 201
Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter will start the final round as the 25 year old’s nearest challengers after both carded rounds of 67 to share second place on 14-under 202.
Leading Scot Paul Lawrie dropped back to a share of 20th place on eight-under-par 208 after a one birdie-one bogey score of par 72.
And so Kaymer continued his love affair with the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. After landing his maiden title at The National Course in 2008, Kaymer finished second last year and today the German edged into the pole position once again by birdieing the last to edge ahead with a third consecutive five under par 67.
McIlroy and first round leader Poulter also dropped just one shot in their 67s to head the chasing pack at 14 under par 202.
Sweden’s Peter Hanson collected back-to-back birdies on the back nine in a 70 to sit at 13 under 213 with Alvaro Quiros, Shane Lowry and Chris Wood a further shot adrift.
“I really like the course in general,” said Kaymer, who likens Abu Dhabi Golf Club to his winter practice venue in Arizona.
“Especially after coming off a six-week break in America, you arrive really motivated and I couldn’t wait to play golf.”
At 25 Kaymer is a serious contender for a Ryder Cup debut in Wales, a fact which was underlined by an inquiry from captain Colin Montgomerie last night over the status of the German’s foot which was injured last year in a go-karting accident.
“Two years ago I was leading by six shots, but I was very nervous, but it still felt really special. But on Sunday I played really shy and didn’t go for the flags and I left a lot of putts short, my self confidence wasn’t there,” added Kaymer, who will play the entire season with the plates in his foot following the high speed crash.
“This has changed after four wins on The European Tour and winning big events last year in France and at Loch Lomond that attitude has definitely changed.”
McIlroy admits to being surprised by the high scoring this week, given the increased rough and new rules regarding grooves. The young man from Holywood, Belfast will need to pull another storming final round out of the bag, following low scoring final days on his final three outings last season in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dubai - which all led to top five finishes.
“I didn’t make many mistakes and I have put myself in a great position. It should be a good battle and it looks as if we are all playing very well so it should be an interesting day,” said the world No 10.
“There is no reason why I couldn’t go low in the final round. I would say 20 under par is a very good target.”
For Poulter, who set the first round pace with a bogey-free, seven under par 65, it is easy to draw comparisons to his victory in Singapore in November when he returned from a similar break to end a two-year winless streak.
“Sometimes in a busy stretch you feel tired, but I feel wide awake, I feel really good,” said the World No 12.
“I feel strong and I’m in a nice position so obviously the adrenaline is there. I drove it pretty solid, hit my irons very nicely. I managed to have a good look at a few putts, a few slid by, but a few went in.”

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
201 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 67 67 67.
202 Ian Poulter (Eng) 65 70 67, Rory McIlroy (NIr) 66 69 67.
203 Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 67 70.
204 Chris Wood 70 64 70, Shane Lowry 68 65 71, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 66 70 68
205 Rick Kulacz (Aus) 69 63 73
206 Jamie Donaldson 70 69 67, Rhys Davies 66 68 72, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 67 71 68, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 69 66 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70 67
207 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 67 70, Anders Hansen (Den) 69 70 68, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 67 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 72 67 68, Richard Green (Aus) 70 65 72, Ross McGowan 69 71 67
208 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 68 68 72, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 67 70 71, Anthony Kim (USA) 70 70 68, Paul Lawrie 66 70 72, Camilo Villegas (Col) 71 68 69
209 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 66 70 73, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 70 67 72, Paul Waring 68 70 71, David Horsey 73 66 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 70 65 74, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 72 69 68
210 Richard Bland 65 74 71, Gary Orr 69 71 70, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 71 67 72, Marc Warren 69 69 72, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71 69 70, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 70 72 68, Paul Casey 72 69 69
211 Steve Webster 68 69 74, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 69 71, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 72 69, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 68 69
212 Alexander Noren (Swe) 66 74 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 67 75 70, Mark Foster 68 70 74, Peter Lawrie 71 71 70, Johan Edfors (Swe) 70 69 73
213 Anthony Wall 71 68 74, Brett Rumford (Aus) 71 69 73, Nick Dougherty 71 68 74, Phillip Price 72 70 71, Tano Goya (Arg) 71 70 72, Darren Clarke 70 72 71, Bradley Dredge 68 73 72
214 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 72 72, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 73 69 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 74 72, Richard Finch 69 68 77, Simon Dyson 72 67 75, James Kamte (Rsa) 72 68 74, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 74 68 72
215 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 71 73, Colin Montgomerie 73 68 74, Todd Hamilton (USA) 68 74 73, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 72 70 73, Paul Broadhurst 71 70 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 73 69 73, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 70 73, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 73 69 73, Keith Horne (Rsa) 65 72 78
216 David Dixon 71 69 76, David Howell 69 72 75
217 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 74 68 75
219 Matteo Manassero (Ita) (amateur) 70 72 77
Retired: Stephen Dodd 66 73

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