Yang looks to add Volvo China Open to his PGA triumph
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Day 3 of the Volvo China Open at the Jinji Lake International Golf Club ended with US PGA title-holder Yang Yong-eun of Korea in a one-stroke lead, after a 68 in the third round gave him a clubhouse score of fourteen-under.
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Tournament leader Yang Yong-eun of Korea tees off at the short 13th. |
"Today was bogey-free," he said, "but it was hard to make par on a lot of occasions out there. Overall the conditions were difficult, but I was very satisfied that I saved a lot of pars and it puts me in a good position on the leaderboard. Hopefully I can sustain my performance tomorrow."
His round was a considerable achievement – one of only three bogey-free rounds all day. The breeze strengthened steadily throughout the afternoon, and made the links-style holes that form the back nine of the course particularly hard to manage. The players were as likely to score bogey or double as birdie or eagle – 34 of the former and 35 of the latter from the top twenty starters. Indeed Yang and his playing partner, Jamie Donaldson of Wales, were the only two players in the top 20 who managed the back nine without a single bogey.
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Peter Whiteford of Scotland appears a lonely figure as he places his ball on the 10th green. |
The monster 492-yard par-4 18th was the hardest of all. Any player who found himself in the fairway bunkers was not going to make the green. US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin, one of the shorter hitters at the top end of the game, had to take his driver from the fairway and still found himself short. And the hole probably put paid to the chances of Thongchai Jaidee. Lying second overnight, the Thai struggled all day. The three shots it took him to escape from the rough on the right of the 18th – he did well to finish with only a double-bogey - left him back in 13th place at seven-under, and almost certainly out of contention.
Yang is followed by two players on thirteen-under, Donaldson and the Finn Mikko Ilonen. Both have carded three sub-70 rounds. Both also held the overall lead and then lost it again during the course of the third round. Early first-round leader Pablo Arrazabal is on his own at eleven-under in fourth place.
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Overnight leader Kim had a tough day, but he almost holed out on the par-3 13th and made this short birdie putt. |
Overnight leader Kim Do-hoon of Korea had a frustrating day. A birdie on the 5th gave him back the overall lead after Ilonen and Donaldson had caught him, and he almost holed out in one on the par-3 13th for another, but overall he had four bogeys, including a disappointing one on the 18th, and finished the day with a 73 to drop back to a tie for 5th place.
The Welsh were well to the fore. Bradley Dredge shot a 68 for eight-under. He is joined there by Rhys Davies, who had the lowest round of the day with a bogey-free 65. His score included eagles on both the par-5s on the back nine and lifted him 53 places up the leaderboard, but both he and Dredge are probably too far back to contend for the title.
The other bogey-free round came from a third Welshman, Stephen Dodd. Playing alongside European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, Dodd managed the conditions and his partner to perfection, with a 66 that moved him to ten-under and a share of fifth place with Kim. He is still very much in the hunt.
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Face in the crowd: Home hopes fell when local favourite Liang Wenchong failed to save par from the greenside on 12. |
Sadly for local hopes, two bogeys on the way home, including one on the final hole, dropped Liang Wenchong into a tie for 13th place at seven-under. There are too many good players, and too many shots, between him and the overall leaders, and the best he can now hope for is a good score and a high finish.
Last word to leader Yang, a former winner of the HSBC at Shanghai: "It would definitely be a great honour to win the Volvo China Open tomorrow. China has always been a lucky place for me and it would help to increase my profile here. I plan to open a golf academy in China so that would help immensely. But bad weather is forecast so I'm not thinking too far ahead. If it rains or is windy you just need more attention and focus - my approach will be to concentrate on every shot I make."
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