GARIA STILL IN THE MIX AFTER HOUDINI ESCAPES

MOORE AND NA SHARE THIRD-ROUND 

LEAD AT KUALA LUMPUR

 ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE

Kuala Lumpur: Title-holder Ryan Moore of the United States shot a five-under-par 67 today to share the third-round lead with countryman Kevin Na as he stood on the brink of becoming the first man to successfully defend the CIMB Classic.

Moore rolled in seven birdies at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club for a three-day total of 12-under-par 204 and was joined atop the leaderboard by former Asian Tour Rookie of the Year Na, who surged into contention with a bogey-free 67.

World number four Sergio Garcia of Spain produced some wonderful par saves on his inward nine as he fired a 68 to share third spot with overnight leader Billy Hurley III, who carded a 71. They will enter the final round one stroke back in the US$7 million showpiece sanctioned by the Asian Tour and US PGA Tour.

 South Korea’s Bae Sang-moon, who is a three-time Asian Tour winner and double US PGA Tournament winner, is amongst those on 207 after a 68 while Asian Tour regular Angelo Que of the Philippines ended the third day in a share of ninth place following a 69.

“I've just been able to play good, solid, consistent golf so far, just finding the fairways, giving myself chances and I've been fortunate enough to make some putts. So in the end that's why I'm here,” said Moore, who won last year’s title in a Monday play-off against Gary Woodland. 

The 31-year-old Moore, a three-time winner, turned in 34 and, following a two-hour weather suspension, he birdied 11 and 12 which are amongst the trickiest holes at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s West course.

Na, who is of South Korean parentage, has fond memories of Malaysia as he secured his maiden professional victory on the Asian Tour back in 2002 while he was still a teenager. 

With three birdies in a row from the third hole and back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14, the 31-year-old will be chasing down his second US PGA Tour title.

Ryder Cup star Garcia produced some Houdini-like escapes as he saved pars on 12, 14 and 17, the last two after finding the hazards. After tinkering with the conventional putting grip this week, the Spaniard reverted back to ‘the claw’ grip midway through his third round and holed some important putts that kept him in the hunt.

“I just didn't feel as comfortable as the first two days. Hit a couple of putts early on and I just didn't feel that great, so I said, I'll just go back to my go-to kind of grip, and putted quite nicely,” said Garcia, who is seeking a ninth US Tour title.

“I'm going to have to play a little bit better. I'm in contention, so we'll go out and give it our best shot, try to be aggressive, try to be positive.”

  THIRD-ROUND SCORES

   Par 216 (3x72) Yardage: 6,967

204 Kevin Na (USA) 69-68-67, Ryan Moore (USA) 68-69-67.

205 Sergio Garcia (ESP) 69-68-68, Billy Hurley III (USA) 67-67-71.

207 Gary Woodland (USA) 71-70-66, Sang-Moon Bae (SKOR) 71-68-68, Kevin Chappell (USA) 69-68-70, Kevin Streelman (USA) 68-68-71.

208 Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 70-73-65, Patrick Reed (USA) 70-70-68, Angelo Que (PHI) 67-72-69, Cameron Smith (AUS) 70-69-69, Jeff Overton (USA) 68-69-71.

209 John Senden (AUS) 72-68-69, Prom Meesawat (THA) 68-71-70, Seung-Yul Noh (SKOR) 68-69-72.

210 Davis Love III (USA) 68-71-71.

INDIAN WINNER DEDICATES VICTORY TO LATE GRANDFATHER

 

EMOTIONAL CHIKKA SEALS VICTORY 

AT TAKE SOLUTIONS INDIA MASTERS

 

Bengaluru, India: India’s S Chikka capped an emotional week by winning the inaugural US$70,000 TAKE Solutions India Masters with a final round of five-under-par 67today.

The Indian immediately dedicated his dramatic Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory which he won with a four-day total of 18-under-par 270 to his late grandfather who passed away last week.

Overnight leader Abhishek Jha of India uncharacteristically surrendered a six-shot lead and had to settle for second place after he closed with his week’s highest score of three-over-par 75 at the Eagleton Golf Resort in Bengaluru.

Sweden’s Nils Floren took third place by carding a 67 for a 274 total while Ireland’s Niall Turner and India’s C Muniyappa are tied for fourth after signing off with matching 275s at the first ADT event to be launched in India.

Victory was especially sweet for Chikka as he was out of sorts following the loss of his grandfather upon his return from Macau last week.

It took the sound advice of his family to finally ease the emotional burden which eventually left him with the right frame of mind to compete.

“This win is for my grandfather. I could not help but look up to the skies as I’m sure he was watching over me. When I came back to Bangalore this week, my mother and grandmother spoke to me and asked me to focus on my game.

"They also told me that that is what my grandfather would’ve liked me to do had he been around. Their words really inspired me and I slowly got my confidence back,” said Chikka

Playing in the final group with Jha, Chikka birdied three and eight to turn in 34.

He continued his birdie blitz with another on 10 and with Jha struggling to hold on to his overnight lead, birdies on 15 and 17 ensured the 21-year-old would lay claim to the TAKE Solutions India Masters title. 

“I took my chances well and I was really determined to close the gap on Jha as I was six shots behind. I put the pressure on him especially on the home stretch and it paid off. With this win on the ADT, I’m definitely looking for better things to come as I will continue to develop as a player and hopefully get more wins!” said Chikka.

Jha started the day perched atop the leaderboard with a commanding lead.

However that advantage was quickly reduced when he bogeyed holes three and four. He got a brief reprieve when he birdied 10 but stumbled again with a bogey on 12 followed by a double-bogey six on 16.

Despite a birdie on 17, it was all too late as Chikka had already secured a two-shot advantage going into the closing hole which they both parred.

“I’m at a loss for words and I guess the nerves got the better of me. I didn’t play well at all today and just couldn’t cope with the final day pressure. On the brighter side, this is a lesson learnt and hopefully I’ll emerge stronger,” said Jha.

 

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72)

270 Chikka S (Ind) 64-70-69-67

272 Abhishek JHA (Ind) 66-66-65-75

274 Nils FLOREN (Swe) 71-62-74-67

275 C Muniyappa (Ind) 69-68-72-66, Niall TURNER (Ire) 67-70-70-68

276 S S P CHOWRASIA (Ind) 74-68-69-65, R. MURTHY (Ind) 71-68-64-73

277 Pijit PETCHKASEM (Tha) 65-73-70-69

278 Khalin JOSHI (Ind) 67-69-71-71, Deepinder Singh Kullar (Ind) 67-69-71-71, M DHARMA (Ind) 67-71-69-71

279 Shubhankar SHARMA (Ind) 70-71-71-67, Manav JAINI (Ind) 69-71-70- 69

 

ORRIN AND AN SHARE THIRD-ROUND LEAD

McARTHUR LYING FOURTH, THREE 

SHOTS OFF THE PACE IN OMAN

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Englishman Max Orrin described it as the best round of his life as the former Walker Cup player moved into a share of the third-round lead with South Korea’s Byeong-hun An at the Challenge Tour's National Bank of Oman Golf Classic, courtesy of a four-under-par 68 for 10-under 206 in extremely testing conditions. 

Glasgow's former Scottish amateur champion Andrew McArthur, pictured, is in fourth place, three shots off the pace after a 72 for 213.
Orrin, a 20-year-old from Kent was one of just six players to card an under-par round as the very strong winds took their toll on moving day at the picturesque Almouj Golf, The Wave.
He managed to carve out a three-under-par front nine before the gusts really began to blow but his one under par back nine was arguably the more impressive as he signed for the only bogey-free round of the day to move to the top on six-under par. 
Orrin could not find enough superlatives for his round and admitted that playing alongside Jason Palmer, his compatriot who won The Foshan Open on the Challenge Tour last week, was a big factor in his elevation to the summit of the leaderboard. 
“It’s difficult to put it in words,” said Orrin, who currently lies in 68th position in the Challenge Tour Rankings and is chasing a big result to earn a place in the season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club. “It’s the best round I’ve ever had. I knew that you needed to get under par early on and then protect it for your life. It was just a battle. “Every time you get on the tee you’re just praying you keep it straight. It is scary. At the 18th all I could think about was, ‘will I make the carry over the sea’? It was 160 yards with the wind but you’re thinking, if the wind picks up any more what am I going to do?
 “Some of those pars were gold dust and they were probably better than the birdies I made downwind. I was never really in that much trouble. I made a couple of up and downs but the par putts were never long, they were all inside five feet.
 “Jason was amazing to play with. He kept me going. He was playing well himself and just didn’t quite hole the putts. But I think it’s the best day I’ve had in my career.
 “I played with Jason the first week in China and he’s such a great guy. When someone you know quite well wins, it boosts you and you want to do better because you know it can be done. 
 “I’ve been speaking to my coach and he said I had a low one coming. Today, it feels like I’ve shot a 60 but it’s a 68. The first two weeks in China I played well but didn’t hole putts and if you don’t do that you don’t move up. Today luckily I holed a few. “You never go into a week thinking you’re going to win, it’s just about being there on the back nine on Sunday with a chance and hopefully I can do that.
" I’m not thinking too much about the win but it would be amazing if I could do that.” 
An, meanwhile, held firm at the top, having entered the weekend in a share of the lead with Spaniard Pedro Oriol, the 23 year old South Korean recording a one over par 73. 
While the former US Amateur Champion had moved into a two-shot lead on nine under par at one point, he was just happy that his title challenge was not blown off course by the extremely tough conditions and is looking forward to competing for a second title of the season.
 “It was pretty tough out there,” said the 2014 Rolex Trophy champion. “I was hitting it really well but I knew it was going to be tough on the last couple of holes. It was straight into the wind coming in, and it was blowing about 30 miles per hour but it felt like 50. 
“I had plenty of chances out there and left a couple short so I didn’t putt great but it’s difficult to read them out there when the wind is so strong so I’m not too disappointed. 
“I don’t mind the wind, it’s not just for me, it’s for everyone and it really tests your skills so it won’t matter to me if it blows tomorrow. 
 “I feel confident as long as I play like I did today, I’ll be right in the mix if I can do that. I’m not thinking about a win right now. My goal is definitely to get to Number One in the Rankings but I know it’s not going to be easy.” 
Mark Tullo shot the lowest round of the day, signing for an impressive six under par 66 having teed off in tamer conditions earlier in the morning. The Chilean, who has already secured his playing status on The European Tour next year, having already amassed €107,093 in the Challenge Tour Rankings, lies two shots off the pace in outright third place on four under par, while Glasgow's former Scottish amateur champion  Andrew McArthur (73) is a shot further back on three under. 
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
210 M Orrin (Eng) 71 71 68, B An (SKor) 72 65 73
212 M Tullo (Chi) 73 73 66
213 A McArthur (Sco) 69 71 73
215 J Palmer (Eng) 69 72 74
216 P Widegren (Swe) 70 69 77, L Jensen (Den) 66 73 77, N Quintarelli (Ita) 72 71 73, P Edberg (Swe) 69 70 77, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 71 75
217 O Stark (Swe) 73 72 72, J Barnes (Eng) 65 75 77, D Coupland (Eng) 73 72 72, P Maddy (Eng) 70 71 76, O Farr (Wal) 73 71 73, N Ravano (Ita) 71 71 75, G Murray (Sco) 70 73 74, C Hanson (Eng) 70 73 74, M Lafeber (Ned) 71 72 74
218 J Fahrbring (Swe) 73 74 71, M Jonzon (Swe) 74 69 75, B Åkesson (Swe) 73 75 70, S Henry (Sco) 70 77 71, R Coles (Eng) 75 68 75
219 C Paisley (Eng) 69 77 73, M Delpodio (Ita) 72 74 73, B Hebert (Fra) 73 75 71, E Espana (Fra) 73 73 73, W Harrold (Eng) 73 70 76, J Stalter (Fra) 74 73 72, A Bernadet (Fra) 74 73 72
220 J Guerrier (Fra) 74 73 73, D Gaunt (Eng) 72 75 73, R Gouveia (Por) 69 76 75, J Huldahl (Den) 77 71 72, A Tadini (Ita) 73 74 73, N Dougherty (Eng) 74 70 76, T Sluiter (Ned) 71 70 79, P Oriol (Esp) 69 68 83, S Hutsby (Eng) 72 73 75, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 73 73 74, 221 J Winther (Den) 75 73 73, J Sjöholm (Swe) 70 76 75, J Edfors (Swe) 74 73 74, A Hortal (Esp) 76 69 76, R Kind (Ned) 71 71 79, R Davies (Wal) 71 73 77, L Kennedy (Eng) 72 76 73
222 T Linard (Fra) 74 73 75, J Rask (Swe) 72 74 76, J Roos (RSA) 73 72 77
223 A Björk (Swe) 75 73 75, P Relecom (Bel) 72 76 75, P Figueiredo (Por) 70 75 78
224 C Ford (Eng) 72 74 78, C McDonnell (Eng) 70 74 80, A Rota (Ita) 75 72 77
225 G Shaw (Nir) 68 79 78, M Lampert (Ger) 74 74 77
226 S Brown (Eng) 74 74 78, T Murray (Eng) 73 75 78
227 W Booth (Sco) 71 73 83, 228 N Lemke (Swe) 75 72 81
 EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

SHANGHAI REPORT AND SCORES

LEVY LEADS BY FOUR AFTER THREE 

ROUNDS IN BMW MASTERS

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS 
Frenchman Alexander Levy will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the BMW Masters, thanks to a brilliant, nine-under-par 63, bettered only by a sizzling 62 from Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson.
Levy is in pole position to win his third European Tour title of the season – he claimed the China Open in April and the rain-affected Portugal Masters three weeks ago – but he has Welshman Donaldson for company at the top of the leaderboard at Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai, China.
Donaldson, who clinched the winning point in Europe’s victory at Gleneagles in September, fired eight birdies and an eagle to reach 18 under par for the US$7million tournament.
But even that was not enough to catch 24 year old Levy, who stayed well ahead with nine birdies of his own, including a 40ft putt at the par three sixth.
Germany’s Marcel Siem signed for a 65 to move up to third place at 17 under par, while Englishman Justin Rose surged into fourth, courtesy of an eight under par 64.
Quotes
Alexander Levy
“It was an amazing round and very good fun with my good friends Romain (Wattel) and Nicolas (Colsaerts). I won three weeks ago and I’ve continued to play very good golf. You don’t have it a lot, where everything is working, so you just have to enjoy the moment and tomorrow I’ll be trying to do the same. I like to play with a smile on my face. I try to do that all the time but it’s a lot easier when you’re making birdies.”

Jamie Donaldson
“I wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on really; I was just trying to go as low as I could and hit the same shots I’ve been hitting and try to hole more putts, which I did today. 
"Any time you shoot ten under you make up a lot of ground. I obviously like the course and it suits my game. I shot 62 here a couple of years ago. It's one of those courses where you've got to putt well, because if there's no wind like today, you're going to have a lot of chances.  
"Tomorrow I'm just going to go out there and try and play like I have done today.  I've hit a lot of good shots and I need to do that again tomorrow and get that ball in the hole. Whether the conditions are rough or benign, I don't mind. It's going to be a day where I have to play very well to win, so that's all that I need to focus on.”

Marcel Siem
“It’s all about the putting. This week is the best I’ve putted since the BMW PGA Championship in May. But I think I'm two or three under on the par fives only, and you see the other guys, they are a lot lower. But if you’d told me before this week that I’d be 17 under going into the last round, I would have taken it. 
"Alex a great lad and he's playing unbelievable golf at the moment.  It’ll be tough to beat him but I'll try my best tomorrow.”

Justin Rose
“I missed probably five putts inside eight feet today and still shot eight under par, so it could have been better. Every hole I had a chance, but you have to take it easy on yourself because the greens are not perfect – they are soft from the rain and by the afternoon they’ve had a lot of traffic. 
"I thought I’d be in better shape going into the last round rather than seven back, but credit to the guys keeping it going out there. Mr Levy is going ridiculous, but you never know what the leader will face on a Sunday and if he has a bad day I’m in with half a chance.”
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
194 A Levy (Fra) 65 66 63,
198 J Donaldson (Wal) 68 68 62,
199 M Siem  (Ger) 68 66 65,
201 J Rose (Eng) 72 65 64,
203 E Grillo (Arg) 66 68 69, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 66 64 73,
204 R Wattel  (Fra) 66 67 71, G McDowell  (Nir) 67 69 68,
205 R Fisher (Eng) 70 67 68, B Grace  (RSA) 68 66 71, J Luiten (Ned) 72 69 64, R Palmer (USA) 70 67 68, R Karlsson (Swe) 69 70 66, G Coetzee (RSA) 71 67 67, M Ilonen  (Fin) 70 66 69,
206 E Els (RSA) 69 68 69, R Ramsay  (Sco) 70 68 68, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 68 69, T Bjørn (Den) 68 67 71,
207 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 72 69 66, F Zanotti (Par) 70 68 69, S Lowry  (Irl) 70 66 71, S Dong (Chn) 70 69 68,
208 R Sterne  (RSA) 68 70 70, D Willett  (Eng) 71 70 67, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 70 70 68,
209 G Fernandez-Castaño  (Esp) 72 68 69,
210 M Hoey  (Nir) 70 68 72, H Shao-Cai (Chn) 71 71 68, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 74 66 70, O Fisher  (Eng) 71 69 70, E Molinari  (Ita) 70 71 69, K Seung-Hyuk (Kor) 70 71 69, O Wilson (Eng) 68 73 69, T Olesen (Den) 70 70 70, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 70 69,
211 T Hatton (Eng) 73 67 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 72 69 70, D Howell (Eng) 74 71 66,
212 T Aiken (RSA) 72 68 72, H Otto (RSA) 71 71 70,
213 C Kirk (USA) 73 72 68, M Carlsson  (Swe) 73 72 68, S Gallacher (Sco) 72 69 72, H Ze-Yu (Chn) 73 71 69, M Baldwin (Eng) 73 71 69, R Bland (Eng) 72 68 73, I Poulter (Eng) 74 69 70,
214 L Hao-Tong (Chn) 69 71 74, H Mu (Chn) 69 71 74, J Olazábal (Esp) 71 70 73, M Warren (Sco) 70 72 72, M Madsen  (Den) 69 74 71, F Molinari (Ita) 69 74 71,
215 M Kieffer (Ger) 71 69 75, K Broberg (Swe) 73 69 73, O Zheng (Chn) 72 66 77, L Wen-Chong (Chn) 72 70 73, W Ashun (Chn) 75 70 70, B Koepka  (USA) 73 72 70, P McGinley (Irl) 71 73 71, F Aguilar (Chi) 70 74 71,
216 T Fleetwood  (Eng) 78 71 67, K Stadler (USA) 73 71 72,
217 P Larrazábal (Esp) 76 72 69, G Storm  (Eng) 75 70 72,
218 S Dyson  (Eng) 75 72 71, A Sullivan (Eng) 76 72 70,
219 C Yi (Chn) 72 71 76, M Jiménez (Esp) 77 70 72, D Horsey (Eng) 73 75 71,
221 M Foster (Eng) 75 71 75, D Chen Xiao (Chn) 78 73 70,
222 A Cañizares  (Esp) 78 71 73,
226 C Zi-Hao (Chn) 77 76 73, M Manassero (Ita) 74 78 74
229 L Yan-Wei (Chn) 75 76 78
239 W Tianyi (Chn) 76 83 80

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