PAUL LAWRIE ONLY TWO SHOTS OFF
LEAD WITH A ROUND TO GO AT DOHA
Only a week after missing the cut in Dubai, Paul Lawrie is in contention for the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters - a tournament he has won twice.
Lawrie has shot 67, 70 and 69 for a 10-under-par tally of 206 and is only two shots behind the joint leaders, Rafa Cabrero-Bello (Spain) and England's Steve Webster with one round to go at Doha Golf Club.
Lawrie birdied the second but dropped a shot at the sixth and had to birdie the long ninth to get out in one-under 35 for a three-under 69 which was a very good score in the windy weather.
If the 1999 Open champion could win the Qatar Masters for a third time, his hopes of making the Ryder Cup team at Gleneagles in September would be revived with a vengeance!
Two birdies early on his inward half - at the long 10th and 12th - gave him a chance of score in the mid-60s but he had to be content with pars at the last six holes.
Paul wrote on his own website:
"There was a bit more breeze today and with the pins tucked away and the greens firmer, scoring wasn't quite so good as it was tough to get the ball close to the flags.
"I hit it very well from tee to green to shoot 69 to be only two shots behind with the final round tomorrow.
"I was a bit frustrated as I deserved a few less today but there's always tomorrow for that!"
There
was a bit more breeze today and with the pins tucked away and the
greens firmer scoring wasn't quite so good as it was tough to get the
ball close to the flags. I hit it very good from tee to green to shoot
69-3 to be -10 overall and only 2 shots behind with the final round
tomorrow. I was a bit frustrated as I deserved a few less today but
there's always tomorrow for th - See more at:
http://www.paullawriegolf.com/blog#sthash.dIr3YUme.dpuf
There
was a bit more breeze today and with the pins tucked away and the
greens firmer scoring wasn't quite so good as it was tough to get the
ball close to the flags. I hit it very good from tee to green to shoot
69-3 to be -10 overall and only 2 shots behind with the final round
tomorrow. I was a bit frustrated as I deserved a few less today but
there's always tomorrow for th - See more at:
http://www.paullawriegolf.com/blog#sthash.dIr3YUme.dpuf
Webster drew level on 12-under-par 204 with overnight leader Cabrera-Bello with a 70 in testing
conditions.
After
a relatively calm week on the weather front, the notorious gusts of
wind that so often make the Doha Golf Club an even more testing
examination came to the fore to have a huge effect on scoring conditions
in round three.
Cabrera-Bello
posted a one over par 73 to fall back to 12 under alongside Webster,
one clear of Thomas Aiken, Thorbjørn Olesen and Adrien Saddier.
Aiken’s
70 was a decent effort in the tough conditions, while Olesen produced a
fine four under 68. But the round of the day belonged to the young
Frenchman Saddier, who rather freakishly bested the rest of what is a
world class field
by four shots.
Saddier,
a 21 year old qualifying school graduate, made the most of his early
start by rushing to the turn in just 30 strokes before adding a further
two birdies to his card to leap an incredible 42 places up the
leaderboard and into
a tie for third place on just the fifth European Tour start of his
career.
“It's definitely been tougher today. The wind has picked up and it's made everything a bit more difficult,” said Cabrera-Bello from the Canary Islands.
“I'm a little bit disappointed for not having to keep a couple shots ahead of the pack. I did see I was three shots ahead at one point but I knew there was still lots
of golf to play, and anything could happen.
“It doesn't really matter if you're
leading or two or three back at this stage – as long as you are at the
top of the leaderboard after round four is all that really matters and
hopefully tomorrow
I can play as well as I did in the first two rounds and that will be
enough.”
Paul Lawrie might have something to say about that.
If Paul is in the mix, fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher is out of it, dropping down to 212 - eight shots off the lead, with a 75 after earlier rounds of 69 and 68 had him heading for a high finish.
Gallacher could not buy a birdie in the windy conditions. He went out with nine straight pars and then took 39 shots to get home, bogeying the 11th, 14th and 15th.
Craig Lee, the Scot who led the field into the last day last weekend, is one ahead of Gallacher on 213 after scores of 72, 67 and 72 while Chris Doak i on 215 after a disappointing third-round 74. His earlier scores were 69 and 72.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
204 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 66 65 73, S Webster (Eng) 65 69 70.
205 T Olesen (Den) 68 69 68, A Saddier (Fra) 70 71 64, T Aiken (RSA) 67 68 70
206 M Ilonen (Fin) 68 67 71, P Lawrie (Sco) 67 70 69, F Zanotti (Par) 69 69 68, G Coetzee (RSA) 64 69 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 69 65 72.
207 S Garcia (Esp); K Broberg (Swe); D Van Der Walt (RSA); B Grace (RSA)
208 P Uihlein (USA); S Benson (Eng); D Fichardt (RSA); M Baldwin (Eng); S Dyson (Eng)
209 C Del Moral (Esp); A Cañizares (Esp); R Wattel (Fra); F Calmels (Fra)
210
G Bhullar (Ind); A Quiros (Esp); S Manley (Wal); G Stal (Fra); R
Bland (Eng); M Carlsson (Swe); B Koepka (USA); S Kapur (Ind); D Foos
(am) (Ger)
211 S Hansen (Den); P Hanson (Swe); J Quesne (Fra); T Hatton (Eng); T Lewis (Eng); C Lee (Sco) 72 67 72.
212 S Thornton (Irl); R Rock (Eng); S Gallacher (Sco) 69 68 75, A Wall (Eng); M Hoey (Nir)
213
M Siem (Ger); H Otto (RSA); J Olazábal (Esp); T Jaidee (Tha); D
Willett (Eng); J Daly (USA); H Stenson (Swe); R Fisher (Eng); M Kaymer
(Ger)
214 R Santos (Por); E Els (RSA); R Karlsson (Swe); C Wood (Eng)
215
N Elvira (Esp); C Doak (Sco) 69 72 74, R Derksen (Ned); P McGinley (Irl); J
Singh (Ind); L Donald (Eng); R Dinwiddie (Eng); S Kjeldsen (Den)
216 W Ormsby (Aus); M Foster (Eng); J Morrison (Eng); M Fraser (Aus)
217 T Fleetwood (Eng); V Riu (Fra); J Lima (Por)
218 M Crespi (Ita)
219 E Grillo (Arg); J Dufner (USA); E Pepperell (Eng)
220 L Slattery (Eng);
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