REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Rafael
Cabrera-Bello posted a bogey-free round of 67 to catch long-time leader
Luke Guthrie on the third day of the BMW Masters presented by SRE Group
in Shanghai.
The Spaniard flew out the blocks at Lake Malaren Golf Club with
successive birdies, before making further gains at the seventh, 11th and
17th holes to wipe out the deficit to Guthrie, who remained on eight
under after signing for a level par round of 72.
Cabrera-Bello’s last victory came at the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert
Classic, but the €851,446 he would collect for winning the first
tournament in the Final Series would be comfortably the biggest
paycheque of his career.
He said: “Starting with two birdies was obviously great. It gave me
confidence straight away, but just because you get off to a good start
doesn’t always mean you’re going to have a good round. But I stayed
patient, and luckily more birdies kept coming.
“It wasn’t easy, because even though it was warmer today, it was still
quite breezy. The forecast was for the wind to die down, but it only
started to die down right at the end of our round. So although it wasn’t
as strong as yesterday or the first day, it
was still very challenging.
“So I’m happy with how I played, and hopefully tomorrow I can keep those
feelings and take them on to the golf course with me. I just want to go
out there, play my best and enjoy the day.”
For much of the day, Guthrie had looked like retaining the lead he has
held on his own since opening with a stunning round of 65, but two
bogeys in his final three holes meant his is not the only name at the
very top of the leaderboard.
Despite the late blip, however, the 23 year old was still confident of
following his friend and compatriot Peter Uihlein into the winners’
enclosure on The European Tour.
He said: “Overall I was hitting it well and putting well for the most
part, but I just let a few shots get away from me towards the end, and
that’s never fun. But I’m tied for the lead going into tomorrow, and I’m
excited about what the final day holds.
“I’m sure there will be a few nerves in the morning, but that’s a good
thing. Even though I may look calm on the outside, inside I think all of
us get pretty pumped up when you’re in that situation. It’s a great
feeling as a competitor, so bring it on. I’m
excited.”
Another Spaniard, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, is currently in third place
on seven under par after matching Cabrera-Bello’s round of 67.
Fernandez-Castaño’s day ended on a bright note with a rare birdie on the
tough finishing hole, and he will go in search of his seventh European
Tour title on what promises to be an exciting last day in Shanghai.
Frenchman Grégory Bourdy is also in contention after climbing to six
under par courtesy of a round of 67, whilst the Scottish duo of Scott
Jamieson and Craig Lee share fifth place on five under par.
World Number Six Rory McIlroy had threatened to trouble the principles
after reeling off four birdies in succession after the turn, but he
dropped back to two under par after closing with a double bogey six.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
208 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 73 68 67, L Guthrie (USA) 65 71 72
209 G Fdez-Castaño (Esp) 71 71 67
210 G Bourdy (Fra) 70 73 67,
211 P Casey (Eng) 70 70 71, C Lee (Sco) 70 70 71, S Jamieson (Sco) 72 68 71
212 P Larrazábal (Esp) 70 73 69, T Jaidee (Tha) 70 70 72
213 M Fraser (Aus) 73 70 70, L Westwood (Eng) 72 71 70, B Wiesberger (Aut) 75 69 69, P Uihlein (USA) 69 75 69
214
R Gonzalez (Arg) 73 67 74, M Kieffer (Ger) 72 72 70, R McIlroy (Nir)
71 72 71, P Harrington (Irl) 72 72 70, T Björn (Den) 73 72 69, S
Kjeldsen (Den) 76 71 67, F Molinari (Ita) 72 71 71,
215 I Poulter (Eng) 74 69 72
216 D Horsey (Eng) 72 72 72, D Willett (Eng) 74 72 70, M Kaymer (Ger) 75 71 70
217
E De La Riva (Esp) 75 72 70, T Olesen (Den) 75 70 72, R Fisher (Eng)
75 70 72, G Mulroy (RSA) 74 72 71, B Rumford (Aus) 73 69 75, R Sterne
(RSA) 74 72 71
218 L Donald (Eng) 75 72 71, P Hanson (Swe) 79 68 71, P McGinley (Irl) 77 71 70
219 S Lowry (Irl) 78 71 70, P Lawrie (Sco) 74 73 72,
220
T Fleetwood (Eng) 72 77 71, M Griffin (Aus) 74 72 74, J Donaldson
(Wal) 79 70 71, G McDowell (Nir) 70 74 76, R Jacquelin (Fra) 76 72 72, J
Daly (USA) 68 74 78, M Ilonen (Fin) 80 70 70
221 D Fichardt (RSA) 74 75 72, L Oosthuizen (RSA) 74 77 70,
222 S Webster (Eng) 79 73 70, J Quesne (Fra) 73 77 72, N Colsaerts (Bel) 74 76 72, S Gallacher (Sco) 77 71 74
223
M Siem (Ger) 81 71 71, H Mu (Chn) 75 73 75, A Cañizares (Esp) 75 75
73, B Grace (RSA) 79 69 75, F Aguilar (Chi) 77 72 74
224 W Ashun (Chn) 73 76 75, M Jiménez (Esp) 74 75 75, L Wen-Chong (Chn) 75 75 74
225
H Stenson (Swe) 72 74 79, A Noren (Swe) 74 76 75, L Hao-Tong (Chn) 78
72 75, S Dong (Chn) 76 75 74, T Aiken (RSA) 80 70 75, V Dubuisson (Fra)
78 75 72
226 M Warren (Sco) 73 77 76, S Khan (Eng) 77 76 73, R Santos (Por) 77 76 73, G Coetzee (RSA) 78 74 74
227 Z Lian-Wei (Chn) 78 74 75
228 H Ming-Jie (Chn) 81 75 72, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 71 79 78,
229 Z Xin-Jun (Chn) 76 77 76, D Howell (Eng) 76 74 79,
230 L Xin-Yang (Chn) 77 77 76
231 L Yan-Wei (Chn) 78 77 76
234 H Shao-Cai (Chn) 83 73 78
236 C Wood (Eng) 79 83 74
241 L Xuen-Cheng (Chn) 85 78 78
** S Dyson (Eng) 70 70 DQ
** J Luiten (Ned) RT
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
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