ERNIE ELS POISED FOR LAST-ROUND SURGE IN INDONESIAN MASTERS
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR
Jakarta,
May 4: Little known Japanese Daisuke Kataoka shot a solid six-under-par
66 to lead by one-shot over a relentless Ernie Els of South Africa and
Austrian Bernd Wiesberger in the third round of the CIMB Niaga
Indonesian Masters on Saturday.
Kataoka
birdied the last two holes for 11-under-par 205 to steal the limelight
from reigning Open Championship winner Els, who shot a 68 at the
US$750,000 full field Asian Tour event.
Wiesberger,
who finished tied seventh in last year’s edition, carded a 67 to stay
in the title hunt while Asian Tour rookie Richard T. Lee of Canada was a
further shot back in fourth place after he signed for a 67 at the
Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
The
24-year-old Kataoka shot the best round of the day highlighted by eight
birdies against two bogeys to lead an Asian Tour tournament for the
first time since turning professional in 2007.
“I’m
striking the ball very good. My putting was normal on the first two
days but it was great today. I never changed anything, somehow I just
felt more confident with my putting. I’ve mastered the speed of the
greens and that made my round slightly easier,” said Kataoka, an Asian
Tour member since 2011.
The
Japanese hopes to preserve his lead and win his first Asian Tour
victory but knows that it will be a close call as four other players are
within four shots of his lead.
“This
is the first time I’m leading a tournament. When I looked at the
scores, I saw many good players chasing me so I hope to have some luck
to win! It won’t be easy,” said the Japanese, who played baseball before
reverting to golf.
South
Africa’s Els bounced back from jetlag to shoot five birdies, including
one on the last, against one bogey to put himself in prime position of
winning his first title this year.
“My
body felt good and my concentration was pretty good as well. I just try
to hang in there. I hit a lot of good shots, missed a lot of putts and
in the end I grinded out a 68,” said Els, who has won over 60 titles
worldwide.
“I
was pretty consistent the whole day. I played well and it was one of
those days where I tried to stay in the tournament. I was trying to get
to 12-under but that didn’t quite happen. I’m one shot behind and I just
wanted to stay in the mix which I managed to do.”
The
world number 24 was surprised to be in contention as overnight leader
Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand slipped back to tied sixth place following a
75.
“Thongchai
played well yesterday but thankfully for us chasing him, he had a slow
day and we now have a host of players that can win tomorrow. So it
should be a great day. It’ll be tough to break away from the chasing
pack and it’s important to stick to your game plan. It’ll be interesting
to watch,” he smiled.
Wiesberger,
winner of the 2012 Ballantine’s Championship in Korea, is confident his
consistent ball-striking will guide him to victory.
“I’m
pretty sure I’m one of the best ball strikers here so I know that I’m
not going to miss a lot of fairways. I’m going to give myself lots of
opportunities so I don’t see why I won’t win,” said the towering
Austrian.
Thongchai
struggled to stretch his overnight two-shot lead. He needs a top-three
finish this week to jump inside of the top-60 on the Official World Golf
Rankings and give himself a strong chance of qualifying for the U.S.
Open next month
THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72) Yardage 7,340
205 Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 70-69-66.
206 Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT) 67-72-67, Ernie ELS (RSA) 68-70-68.
207 Richard T. LEE (CAN) 72-68-67.
208 HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 70-68-70.
209 MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 72-69-68, Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 71-69-69, Shiv
KAPUR (IND) 70-69-70, Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 69-69-71, Thongchai JAIDEE
(THA) 69-65-75.
210 David LUTTERUS (AUS) 68-73-69, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 72-69-69, Ryan
MCCARTHY (AUS) 70-70-70, HWANG Inn-choon (KOR) 66-74-70, Unho PARK (AUS)
68-72-70, Angelo QUE (PHI) 70-70-70, Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 69-68-73.
211 Simon DYSON (ENG) 69-74-68, Joonas GRANBERG (FIN) 73-69-69, Arnond
VONGVANIJ (THA) 68-74-69, Jason KNUTZON (USA) 68-74-69, Gunn CHAROENKUL
(THA) 69-72-70, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 71-68-72, Scott HEND (AUS)
66-72-73, Scott BARR (AUS) 68-68-75.
212 Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 73-70-69, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 70-73-69,
Zaw MOE (MYN) 70-73-69, Adam BLYTH (AUS) 71-71-70, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI
(THA) 69-73-70, Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 72-73-67.
213 Iain STEEL (MAS) 70-73-70, Anthony KANG (USA) 73-71-69, Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 68-73-72, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 70-68-75.
Labels: ASIAN TOUR
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