HENSON GOES SIX SHOTS CLEAR IN CLEARWATER MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Batu Gajah, Perak , Malaysia: Berry Henson shot a solid six-under-par 66 courtesy of a brilliant eagle to extend his lead to six shots after the third round of the Clearwater Masters 2011 today.
The American holed out on the par four 12th hole bunker from 104 yards for a 15-under-par 201 total at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort in Batu Gajah, Perak, which is a 90-minute drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian Shaaban Hussin birdied the last two holes for a 68 to share second place with Atthaphon Prathummanee (70) of Thailand on a 207 total.
Teen sensation Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines was a stroke back in tied fourth place with his coach and mentor Rick Gibson of Canada as they battled to a 69 and 70 respectively in the US$75,000 Asian Development Tour event.
Thailand ’s Somkiat Srisa-nga, who carded a 72, fired his second hole-in-one in the tournament when his seven iron shot rolled into the par three third hole. He won an Orient watch worth RM1,600.
Henson, who returned this morning to complete 11 holes of the second round, showed no signs of fatigue as he turned in 32 before adding one birdie and one eagle against a bogey in his homeward nine.
“I felt super strong. I’m not sure what it was, maybe it was the food I ate! Coming off 18, I felt like I could play another 18 holes,” said the 31-year-old.
Henson is not taking his distant lead for granted. “I got a long way to go and tomorrow is going to be a big day. I have to stay super focus,” said the American.
Shaaban turned in 36 but shifted into fifth gear with birdies on holes 11 and 12 before posting two closing birdies to lie six strokes behind Henson.
“The birdie on 11 was the turning point for me. It kept me going and gave me the confidence to finish off nicely which I did. Overall, it was a good round but I’m slightly disappointed I didn’t go lower,” said Shaaban, who finished in tied 20th place in the Indonesian Masters last week.
Tabuena, 16, continued to make heads turn with his solid performance where he put himself in a strong position of claiming his first top-five finish since turning professional in February.
“It was a good round and I enjoyed it because I played with my coach Rick (Gibson). I know I need a strong finish this week so I can finish in the top-three of the Order of Merit (Asian Development Tour) at the end of the season which allows me to keep my Asian Tour card for next year,” said Tabuena.
LEADING THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
201 Berry HENSON ( USA ) 65-70-66
207 Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 74-65-68, Atthaphon PRATHUMMANEE (THA) 68-69-70
208 Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 69-70-69, Rick GIBSON (CAN) 70-68-70
209 Jonathan MOORE ( USA ) 69-72-68, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 66-73-70, HSU Chia-Jen (TPE) 66-71-72
211 SSiva CHANDHRAN (MAS) 71-71-69, Haziq HAMIZAN (MAS) 69-73-69, M.Sasidaran (MAS) 72-69-70, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 71-70-70, Timothy TANG (HKG) 71-68-72
212 Yosuke TSUKADA (JPN) 69-74-69, CHANG Tse-Peng (TPE) 70-72-70, T. J KIM (SKOR) 72-69-71, Masaki SAKATA (JPN) 70-71-71, Will YANAGISAWA ( USA ) 68-73-71
213 Kemarol BAHARIN (MAS) 73 -70-70, Artemio MURAKAMI (PHI) 71-74-68, Somkiat SRISA-NGA (THA) 72-69-72