AUSSIES ON TOP DOWN UNDER WITH A ROUND TO GO IN WORLD CUP

        JASON DAY ... leading individual in the World Cup after three rounds
                          Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Home hero Jason Day leads Denmark’s Thomas Björn by one shot going into Sunday's final round of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf.

Day’s five under par round of 66 took him to nine under par, and the World Number 18 also leads the team competition in partnership with his compatriot Adam Scott. 

Björn had surged four strokes clear of the field when he birdied the first hole from six feet, and his closest rival Kevin Streelman of America dropped four shots in three holes from the second.

The 42 year old Dane was still three strokes clear when he turned in 35, but by failing to break par on the way home Björn finished the day where he started it on eight under par, one shot behind Day. 

The Australian had birdied the first hole from ten feet and two-putted the par five second for a further gain; but it was a 20-footer for birdie at the ninth hole which really ignited the 26 year old’s charge.

An approach to eight feet at the 13th hole and subsequent birdie putts of 20 and ten feet at the 15^th and 17^th holes respectively saw him come home in 33 to lead at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

“I got off to a good start and I stayed patient and just let it happen,” said Day. “On the way home I made a load of putts. I’m very excited with how I played today. 

“On this sort of course you have to be patient; you can’t get to the point where the course is beating you up.”

With World Number Two Scott carding a 68 to get to two under, Australia lead defending champions America by one in the team competition. 

“Scotty’s been playing great,” Day added. “It would be very fitting for us to bring it home at Royal Melbourne for all the people that have been here supporting us.”

Björn has all but conceded winning the team title after his fellow Dane Thorbjørn Olesen slumped to a round of 76, but he is firmly in contention to capture the lion’s share of the US$7 million prize fund allocated for the indivdual event.

He said: ““I have played really, really well again today, but the putter just didn’t really do what it had to do.

“I am doing everything right and playing the golf course the way it should be played.

“It was disappointing the couple of mistakes I made, but in general I am in a good position and it’ll be good fun tomorrow.

“I’m up against a guy that we all know what he is capable of and I’ve got to go out and try and keep playing the same sort of golf that I have been playing for three days and hopefully roll a few putts in.” 

America’s Matt Kuchar sits third on six under after a second consecutive 68, while Italy’s Francesco Molinari matched Day’s best-of-the-day 66 to move into fourth on five under. 

 SCOTSWATCH
Scotland's Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher dropped down from a share of sixth place over night to joint 11th after 54 holes on four-over-par 430, two behind Ireland but on the same mark as England.
Laird's score is going up everyday - 67-72-74 and he has gone down to T17 on level par 213.
Gallacher has outscored his team-mate over the last two rounds with rounds of 74-71-72 but the Bathgate man is T33 on four-over-par 217

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 MELBOURNE MADNESS ENVELOPES
HOLE-IN-ONE WELSHMAN MANLEY
 

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Even a Hollywood scriptwriter would have rejected the story of Stuart Manley’s third day at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf as a little too farfetched.

The bald facts are that Manley shot a round of 72 which saw him fall back into a tie for eighth place on two under par, but the bare figures do not even begin to tell the story of what unfolded at Royal Melbourne Golf Club on Saturday November 23 – a date which, one suspects, will linger long in the Welshman’s memory. 

Consecutive birdies from the first hole got the 34 year old’s round off to the perfect start, and his day got even better when his tee shot on the par three eighth hole landed at the front of the green, took three bounces and rolled straight into the cup for the third hole in one of his career.

Thinking he had also won the AUS$130,000 Mercedes on display behind the tee, Manley broke off his celebrations and gave the car a quick pat. He then made his way to the green, only to be told by a rules official that the prize was, in fact, only on offer during the final day’s play. 

His disappointment was compounded at the next hole, where he took four shots to locate the putting surface from the edge of the green en route to posting an 11 – the highest score of his professional career.   

Said Manley: “It’s the highest high and then the lowest low I’ve ever experienced on a golf course. I thought the car was mine, and with the crowd, all the hype, I was just buzzing. The adrenaline was pumping so much, I could have flown to the green.

“Then I found out about the car, and go and have an 11. I kept asking my caddie, “How many shots is that now?” I actually thought it was a ten but I was not going to argue, because my head was pretty fried at that point, to be honest.”

To his eternal credit, the Challenge Tour champion then showed immense mental strength to bounce back with birdies at the sixth and 15^th holes, and an eagle at the 15^th which, miraculously, moved him back to level par for the day.

There was time for one last bizarre episode, however, as he pulled his approach shot on the last and his ball ended up in the container beneath the big screen adjacent to the 18^th green.

Having taken a free drop, Manley chipped onto the green and two-putted for a round of 72 which has to rank amongst the most eventful in history.

He said: “Even though it probably sounds a bit strange, I’m actually quite proud of the way I held it together after my 11. I think I am pretty strong mentally. My caddie said a lot of people would have folded after that, but I made some good chances after that and I just kept plugging away.

“It’s obviously a shame I bogeyed the last, but if somebody had told me I would’ve finished on two under at the end of the day after taking an 11, I would have taken it. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that point, but you’ve just got to pick yourself up and get on with it. I won’t forget this day for a while, talk about mixed emotions. But hopefully it’ll have a happy ending

THIRD-ROUND TEAM TOTALS

1    Australia    415 (-11)
2    United States    416 (-10)
3    Japan    422 (-4)
4    Denmark    424 (-2)
5    Canada    426 (Par)
6=    Portugal    428 (+2)
6=    Thailand    428 (+2)
6=    Brazil    428 (+2)
6=    Germany    428 (+2)
6=    Ireland    428 (+2)
11=    England    430 (+4)
11=    Scotland    430 (+4)
11=    France    430 (+4)
14=    South Africa    433 (+7)
14=    South Korea    433 (+7)
14=    Finland    433 (+7)
14=    Spain    433 (+7)
18=    Philippines    434 (+8)
18=    Italy    434 (+8)
20    Netherlands    436 (+10)
21=    Sweden     438 (+12)
21=    Chile    438 (+12)
23    New Zealand    439 (+13)
24    Argentina    441 (+15)              
25    China    445 (+19)
26    India    450 (+24)
 
INDIVIDAL STANDINGS
Par 213 (3x71)

1	204	-9	Jason Day	AUS	68	70	66
2	205	-8	Thomas Bjorn	DEN	66	68	71
3	207	-6	Matt Kuchar	USA	71	68	68
4	208	-5	Francesco Molinari	ITA	75	67	66
5	209	-4	Kevin Streelman	USA	66	69	74
6=	210	-3	Graeme McDowell	IRL	72	71	67
6=	210	-3	Hideto Tanihara	JPN	72	67	71
8=	211	-2	Adam Scott	AUS	75	68	68
8=	211	-2	Kiradech Aphibarnrat	THA	71	70	70
8=	211	-2	Stuart Manley	WAL	67	72	72
8=	211	-2	Ricardo Santos	POR	69	69	73
12=	212	-1	Bernd Wiesberger	AUT	71	72	69
12=	212	-1	Ryo Ishikawa	JPN	71	71	70
12=	212	-1	David Hearn	CAN	70	71	71
12=	212	-1	K.J. Choi	KOR	67	74	71
12=	212	-1	Oscar Fraustro	MEX	74	67	71
17=	213	Par	Miguel Angel Jimenez	ESP	73	69	71
17=	213	Par	Danny Willett	ENG	69	73	71
17=	213	Par	Gregory Bourdy	FRA	72	69	72
17=	213	Par	Martin Laird	SCO	67	72	74
21=	214	1	Marcel Siem	GER	71	74	69
21=	214	1	Maximilian Kieffer	GER	73	71	70
21=	214	1	Roope Kakko	FIN	72	72	70
21=	214	1	Brad Fritsch	CAN	71	73	70
21=	214	1	Alexandre Rocha	BRA	72	72	70
21=	214	1	Adilson da Silva	BRA	72	71	71
27=	215	2	Branden Grace	RSA	73	70	72
27=	215	2	Anirban Lahiri	IND	72	70	73
29=	216	3	Brendon De Jonge	ZIM	74	72	70
29=	216	3	Nicolas Colsaerts	BEL	70	76	70
29=	216	3	Angelo Que	PHI	74	72	70
29=	216	3	Peter Hanson	SWE	72	71	73
33=	217	4	Tim Sluiter	NED	76	72	69
33=	217	4	Mark Tullo	CHI	74	72	71
33=	217	4	Chris Wood	ENG	75	70	72
33=	217	4	Stephen Gallacher	SCO	74	71	72
33=	217	4	Victor Dubuisson	FRA	73	71	73
33=	217	4	Prayad Marksaeng	THA	72	72	73
33=	217	4	Jose-Filipe Lima	POR	71	73	73
33=	217	4	Vijay Singh	FIJ	73	69	75
41=	218	5	Shane Lowry	IRL	75	72	71
41=	218	5	George Coetzee	RSA	74	71	73
41=	218	5	Tony Lascuna	PHI	70	71	77
44=	219	6	Robert-Jan Derksen	NED	74	75	70
44=	219	6	Michael Hendry	NZL	75	73	71
44=	219	6	Fabian Gomez	ARG	72	75	72
44=	219	6	Mikko Korhonen	FIN	70	75	74
44=	219	6	Thorbjorn Olesen	DEN	71	72	76
49=	220	7	Tim Wilkinson	NZL	79	71	70
49=	220	7	Rafael Cabrera Bello	ESP	75	75	70
51=	221	8	Sang-Moon Bae	KOR	74	74	73
51=	221	8	Felipe Aguilar	CHI	75	72	74
51=	221	8	Espen Kofstad	NOR	72	75	74
51=	221	8	A-Shun Wu	CHN	77	69	75
55=	222	9	Emiliano Grillo	ARG	77	71	74
55=	222	9	Jonas Blixt	SWE	76	72	74
57	224	11	Liang Wen-chong	CHN	75	76	73
58	225	12	Siddikur Rahman	BAN	73	75	77
59	226	13	Matteo Manassero	ITA	76	74	76
60	235	22	Gaganjeet Bhullar	IND	82	77	76

       

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS