LIN WEN TANG RETAINS LEAD IN SOLAIRE OPEN AT MANILA

NEWS RELEASE FROM ASIAN TOUR

Manila, April 13: Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei held on to his lead in the third round of the Solaire Open despite dropping two shots in the last three holes on Saturday.

 

Lin, a five-time Asian Tour winner but not since 2009, bogeyed holes 16 and 17 for a two-under-70 to hold a one-shot advantage with a four-under-par 212 total at the inaugural US$300,000 Asian Tour event.

 

Thai veteran Thammanoon Sriroj mixed his card with five birdies and four bogeys for 71 to stay in contention for a sixth Asian Tour title at the challenging Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.

 

Countryman Pawin Ingkhapradit (71), who birdied three of his closing four holes, and Elmer Salvador (71) of the Philippines were a further shot back on 214.

 

Lin, winless for over three seasons, hopes to draw inspiration from his previous Asian Tour victories, which includes a dramatic triumph over Rory McIlroy at the 2008 Hong Kong Open.

 

“I don’t know if I can still win tomorrow because it has been a long time since I last won. I just want to enjoy the tournament. I will try and relax because I’m excited about my round,” smiled the 39-year-old.

 

He rolled in two birdies in each half and was comfortably leading on six-under but slipped back when he struggled to chip out from the thick rough on 16 and 17.

 

“There are a lot of good players here and I will need a lot of luck to win the tournament. I’m happy with the birdies I made. I hope I can win,” said Lin.

 

Thammanoon, who is a natural left-handed but was pressured by his brothers to play golf right-handed, said he needs a proper game plan on Sunday.

 

“If you look at my score, you will know how inconsistent I was today. My head wasn’t in the right place. I made many wrong club selections and that backfired on me. It was disappointing. I need to really plan my round,” said the Thai, whose last victory was in 2004.

 

Filipino Salvador made three straight birdies from the second hole but slipped back when his second shot on five landed behind a tree. He three putted for a triple bogey there but fought back with three other birdies against two bogeys.

 

“It wasn’t that bad, I hit the ball okay but there were holes that I wasn’t that lucky. It was still a good round. Let’s see what will happen in the final round. I’ve never won on the Asian Tour so I hope to get it right this time,” said Salvador, who lost in two play-offs on the region’s premier Tour in 2011 and 2012.

 

The 22-year-old Pawin, who has yet to win since turning professional four years ago, continued his brave title charge after receiving a pep talk from his caddy midway through his round.

 

“I felt frustrated when I bogeyed 11 and 12 but my caddy told me to calm down and relax. That’s when I slowly got back into the game. I need to be very relaxed on the last day because I still have chance to win,” said the Thai, who finished fifth in India in March.

 

Scores after round 3 of the Solaire Open 2013 being played at the par 72, 7222 Yards Wack Wack GcC course (a- denotes amateur):

212 - LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 69-73-70.

213 - Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA) 73-69-71.

214 - Pawin INGKHAPRADIT (THA) 68-75-71, Elmer SALVADOR (PHI) 74-69-71.

215 - Sam CYR (USA) 76-70-69, KIM Gi-whan (KOR) 72-71-72.

216 - Dodge KEMMER (USA) 66-79-71, Unho PARK (AUS) 73-71-72, Gunn CHAROENKUL (THA) 73-71-72.

217 - HSU Mong-nan (TPE) 74-72-71, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 73-72-72, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 74-70-73, Richard T. LEE (CAN) 72-71-74.

218 - WANG Jeung-hun (KOR) 72-76-70, Rory HIE (INA) 72-75-71, Chris RODGERS (ENG) 73-74-71, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 75-71-72, Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 74-71-73, Mars PUCAY (PHI) 69-76-73, Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 70-75-73, Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 71-73-74, Matt JAGER (AUS) 70-72-76, Kwanchai TANNIN (THA) 71-71-76.

219 - Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 75-74-70, MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 71-77-71, Danny CHIA (MAS) 72-76-71, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 75-71-73, Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 75-69-75.