JAVI COLOMO THANKS WIFE FOR MOTIVATION IN SOUTH KOREA

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR

Jecheon, South Korea: Asian Tour rookie Javi Colomo of Spain has to look no further than his wife for motivation as he attempts to win his maiden title at the inaugural Volvik Hildesheim Open J Golf Series.

The Spaniard posted a three-under-par 69 to share the third-round lead with five players that included 13-time Asian Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva at the Hildesheim Country Club on Saturday

Overnight leader Mo Joong-kyung of Korea is a single shot back of the leaders after he signed for a 73 to take a share of seventh place alongside Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul and Thanyakon Khrongpha as well as compatriots Ma Soo-kil, Byun Jin-jae and Kim Dae-hyun at the US$300,000 event that is jointly sanctioned with the Korean Golf Tour.

Colomo, who has his wife on his bag this week, is looking forward to a grandstand finish on Sunday as he wants to reward her with a trip to New York City where they had their honeymoon.

“My wife, Christina has been great all week. This is a physically demanding golf course and she has never complained. She has been a great source of comfort and inspiration and the only thing I need to do is to win it for us tomorrow,” said Colomo.

“If I win, I’ll book a flight to New York City. We had our honeymoon there and it’ll add to the many happy memories that we already share,” added the 28-year-old.

The rookie, who earned his Tour card by finishing tied-ninth at the Asian Tour Qualifying School in January, is confident that he can make it a week to remember despite a round that fell short of his standards.

“Today was not really one of my best days on the course. I was not playing very well from tee to green but I managed to save lots of par,” said Colomo who mixed his card with four birdies and one bogey.

“However, I’m in a nice position for tomorrow and I’m confident that the winning score will come,” added Colomo.

The closest Da Silva came to his maiden victory on the Asian Tour was in 2010 when he bowed out after the second play-off hole at the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic in Singapore.

The 40-year old Brazilian, who has won multiple times on the Sunshine Tour, believes that he can also start winning on the region’s elite circuit.

“It will mean a lot to me if I win my first Asian Tour title tomorrow. I’ve been working really hard these past few years and I hope that they’ll pay off,” said Da Silva.

“The course is in very conditions and it’s a perfect day for scoring. Hopefully, I can put in some really low numbers tomorrow,” added the Brazilian.

After rounds of 69 and 71, Thaworn stepped up a gear to post his week’s best score of 68.

Starting the day four shots back of the lead, the Thai veteran showed why he is one of Asia’s best when he mixed five birdies against one bogey to move atop the leaderboard.

The 45-year-old, who emerged victorious at the Queen’s Cup last week, believes that he has carried that good form over to the Volvik Hildesheim Open.

“I did not come here with much expectation but I know that I’m in good form and playing some of my best golf. The rest will take care of it by itself,” said Thaworn. 

“The Koreans will have a slight advantage as they know this course better than us. However, I believe I have the experience in terms of the mental edge,” added the Thai.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD

Par 216 (3x72). Yardage 7,188

208 Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 69-72-67, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 69-71-68, PARK Jun-won (KOR) 69-71-68, LEE In-woo (KOR) 71-68-69, Javi COLOMO (ESP) 69-70-69, PARK Boo-won (KOR) 69-69-70.

209 MA Soo-kil (KOR) 66-75-68, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 70-71-68, BYUN Jin-jae (KOR) 69-71-69, Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA) 68-70-71, MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 68-68-73, KIM Dae-hyun (KOR) 67-70-72.

210 BAE Sung-chul (KOR) 70-72-68, Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 72-71-67, KIM Seong-yong (KOR) 68-73-69, LEE Sang-hee (KOR) 66-73-71.

Selected scores

213 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 71-71-71, Scott HEND (AUS) 68-73-72