10/12/2013

Thornton Second in Portugal

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Simon Thornton dropped just one shot on his way to a six under par third round 65 at the Portugal Masters on Saturday, to retain a two share of second place with South African Otto Hennie at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Club in Vilamoura. 

Paul Waring will take a two shot lead into the final round, as Scotland's Scott Jamieson coming agonisingly close to recording the first 59 on The European Tour.

Jamieson charged into contention with 11 birdies in the first 17 holes of his third round at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course, and needed another on the last of the par 71 layout to break the magical 60 barrier.

However, his approach ran just over the green and his chip from around 15 feet grazed the edge of the hole, the 29 year old sinking to his knees before tapping in for par.

Jamieson had to settle for the 18th round of 60 in European Tour history and the second this season after American Peter Uihlein's 12 under round at Kingsbarns during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Having only made the halfway cut by one shot, Jamieson found himself in the clubhouse lead on 14 under just as overnight leaders Waring, David Lynn and Hennie Otto were heading to the first tee at 12 under.

And only Waring was able to overhaul Jamieson's total, the Englishman recovering from a shaky start to card a 67 and claim a two shot lead as he seeks his first European Tour title.

Jamieson actually shot a round of 57 before winning his first European Tour title in a play-off for the Nelson Mandela Championship in South Africa last December, but that was in a tournament cut to 36 holes and on a Royal Durban course reduced to a par 65 because of saturated fairways.

He said: "I said to Richard (his caddie) playing 17 I really want to make a birdie here so we have a chance of it going down the last and I could not have asked to hit a better shot in. It pitched just short of the hole...what a chip as well!

"When I birdied the 13th I said to Richard, 'a few more and we could be part of history'. I was definitely nervous but thinking about it from the tournament point of view the leaders are going to be a minimum of 16, 17 maybe 18 under going into tomorrow so that kept me going from a pushing point of view."

Jamieson, who carded an opening 66 but struggled to a 73 on Friday, added: "I played really well the first day and got nothing out of it. I was five under par but the longest putt I holed was maybe eight feet for par on one hole.

"I felt like I have been playing well for a while - there have been a few good rounds in there. Yesterday I didn't necessarily play poorly, I just didn't score well so it was nice today."

Waring, who is playing on a medical extension this season after an operation on a serious wrist injury, looked to be drifting out of contention when he bogeyed the par five fifth and then fired his approach to the ninth over the green.

But the 28 year old promptly chipped in for an unlikely birdie and collected four more on the back nine to move two shots clear of Jamieson, playing partner Hennie Otto, Ireland's Simon Thornton and Welshman Jamie Donaldson.

"It was very good towards the end of the round," said Waring, who enjoyed the first top five finish of his European Tour career at the Open de España in April and has had three more top tens since.

"I started a bit poorly and didn't quite hit it close enough but holed some nice putts towards the end of the day. I feel pretty good, two ahead, so we will see what happens tomorrow."

Asked if he was ready to claim a maiden victory on Sunday, Waring added: "I can't really say. You don't know what's going to happen with the other lads, what anyone else is going to score. You can't control those sorts of things.

"All I can do is control what I can control and add them up at the end of the day and see what happens."

On a crowded leaderboard, Scotland's Chris Doak was three off the lead after dropping his first shot of the week on the 18th, the 35 year old looking to climb from 112th on The Race to Dubai into the top 110 to keep his card for next season.



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Clarke Shares Nanshan Lead

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Darren Clarke, seeking his first win since lifting the Claret Jug at Royal St George's in 2011, fired a four-under-par 68 on Saturday to grab a share of the lead with home favourite and defending champion Liang Wenchong (70) after three rounds of OneAsia's U.S. $1 million Nanshan China Masters.

The pair are eight under around the 6,784-metre (7,419-yard) Montgomerie Course at Nanshan International Golf Club, two clear of Australian Scott Strange (69), Korean newcomer Kwon Sung-yeol (67) and up-and-coming China star Zhang Xinjun (72).

South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 U.S. Masters champion, is a shot further back after going four under on Saturday, alongside Australian Terry Pilkadaris (70) and New Zealander Gareth Paddison (73).

Clarke, 45, has not won since beating Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson by a stroke to claim his first Major, but he remains as hungry as ever for titles.

"There is pressure in any event -- it doesn't matter whether it's the Open Championship or here at the Nanshan China Masters," he said after starting the day two shots behind overnight leaders Liang, Zhang and Paddison.

"I've practised really hard these last couple of years since I've won the Open and just not been able to get the scores. Obviously I'd be delighted to win tomorrow, but there's 18 holes of golf to go and a lot of talent there or thereabouts at the top of the leader board."

Liang ended a two-year-victory drought of his own in claiming last year's tournament -- beating Major winner Y.E. Yang in a thrilling sudden-death play-off that went to five holes -- and the four-time OneAsia champion will not give-up his title without a fight. 

"He is a very respected player and as the local I'm ready to face his challenge and will try my best to play well," said Liang.

The surprise package of the third round came in the form of Kwon, playing in his first OneAsia event after finishing 20th at Q-School in January.

The 27-year-old, a close friend of his more illustrious countrymen Bae Sang-moon and Kim Kyung-tae, has not yet matched his amateur talent in the professional ranks, a journey interrupted by nearly two years of national service that only ended in December.

"It's my first time to visit China and also my first OneAsia event, but I am calm and stable," he said. "When I was doing my national service, I was really thirsty for golf. That is what has motivated me in Korea this year."

Schwartzel continues to be frustrated by his ball striking despite his best round of the tournament and says he will dig deep for inspiration.

"To have these sort of weeks frustrates me a lot because I know I can play a lot better -- especially on a golf course like this where you should be a lot more under par," he said.

"On the brighter side, at least I'm not far behind. We all know the game and sometimes it changes overnight so hopefully I can find something that will get me through tomorrow and let me hit the ball the way I know I can and at least give Darren a run."

Korean Kim Bi-o, winner of the inaugural Nanshan China Masters in 2011 and the reigning Order of Merit champion, is four over for the tournament after shooting a 74, while first-round leader Eric Mina, top of the class at OneAsia's Q-School in California in January, is two strokes better off.


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