Westwood and Molinari in HSBC slugfest
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That'll do nicely, sir. Leader Francesco Molinari retrieves his ball on 13 after holing out from the fairway. |
Wire-to-wire victories are uncommon at the highest level in golf, and wire-to-wire competitions where the first two are unchanged on all four days even more so. In fact nobody could say if it had ever happened before on the European Tour. Yet that is one of the prospects that faces us here in the HSBC Champions Golf at Shanghai, after Italy's Francesco Molinari and World no. 1 Lee Westwood once more topped the leaderboard at the end of Day 3.
Indeed, the chances that they will finish the tournament in the top two places increased significantly during the course of the day. While others found it hard to shoot low, the Italian and the Englishman ground out a pair of 67s that left them respectively at 14-under and 13-under, with only Luke Donald, who shot 68, within hailing distance at 10-under. The best of the rest – Scotland's Richie Ramsay, England's Ross Fisher, and The Big Easy, Ernie Els – lie at 8-under, and the top three would have to play very badly, and someone else improbably well, if the winner is not to come from the trio of Molinari, Westwood and Donald.
The leading pair were locked together at 2-under for the day at the turn, but Molinari birdied10, and although he bogeyed 12 it seemed he might have made the decisive break at 13 where he delighted the crowd by holing out his second shot from the fairway, a 155-yard 7-iron for eagle. But Westwood fought back with a birdie there himself, then another on 15. Surprisingly, neither could birdie the short par-4 16th – Westwood three-putted after hitting the green with his drive, but both finished with birdies on the par-5 18th to preserve the single stroke gap that had separated them at the start of the day.
"It was a really eventful round," said the leader. "And it was a bit of a roller-coaster because I hit some great shots and some not-so-great shots. All in all, I'm obviously very happy. A 67 around here is always a good score, and to still be one in front of Lee going into the Sunday is the position I'd want to be in. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
"I think we both played well," confirmed Westwood. "It will be a nice day tomorrow – a good three-ball. Myself, Luke, and Francesco. Obviously we three played the best out of anybody, and we've opened a bit of a gap with the rest of the field. But you never discount the possibility of somebody coming from behind. I know what it's like - two years ago, ten behind with ten to play and got in a playoff. Tomorrow is a day to just concentrate and keep doing the right things."
Molinari was not the only one to hole out from the fairway. Padraig Harrington produced the one shot in golf that's rarer than a hole-in-one when he was down in two from 250 yards for an albatross on the par-5 14th. "I've never had an albatross before," he said. "You know, I was hoping to go close, but obviously when they all jumped up – well you can never be quite sure in China, but when they all went up I suspected that maybe I was in the hole. It was a nice bonus."
Ahead in the second-last group Ernie Els provided the crowd with plenty of entertainment in the closing holes. On the huge par-4 15th he missed a short putt for par, and was not happy. During the lengthy stroll to the 16th tee he dealt out some punishment to the azalea bushes with his putter. There he decided to pull out the big stick and give the ball some punishment too. Unfortunately he came across it and sent it into the quarry lake. But he played a miraculous lob to save par. On 18 he made the green and left himself a ten-footer for eagle, but it just shaved the hole. Ernie is in joint-fourth at 8-under with playing partner of the day Richie Ramsay, and England's Ross Fisher.
The missing link is Luke Donald. In the group with Els and Ramsay, the Englishman played better than his score of 68 might suggest. He was always around the pin, and one of the few players on the day to avoid a bogey on what is becoming an increasingly difficult course.
"This is my first time back here since 2006," he said. "But it obviously attracts a great field and it's nice to see all the world's top players meeting her in China. It's good for China, it's good for golf, and it's good for both tours."
Ramsay fought hard for his 71. He birdied the huge par-4 15th – the hardest hole on the course, but was unlucky on more than one occasion. Notwithstanding, he is immensely encouraged by his performance so far this week. In the last group alongside Molinari and Westwood the unheralded Jaco van Zyl of South Africa did not disgrace himself with a one-over 73, but that was enough to cost him six strokes against his illustrious partners and he finds himself back in the pack.
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