5/03/2014

Lawrie Looks Good at Laguna


Peter Lawrie signed for a third round 67 at Laguna National in Singapore on Saturday to secure a tie for 20th place and into the money for the first time this season.

The Dubliner birdied the par-five 15th before he added four straight birdies after the turn and carded one bogey at the sixth. Then recovering a stroke at the next before making par over the last two holes.

Anders Hansen and Panuphol Pittayarat share the lead going into the final day of the event.

The duo are tied on 16 under par, with Denmark’s Hansen enjoying a strong finish to move level with day-two leader Pittayarat.

Hansen signed for birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to take a five-under-par 67 for the day, with Thailand’s Pittayarat three under.

A victory charge is a real boost for Hansen, who is playing in just his fourth tournament following a six-month absence owing to wrist surgery.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “I didn’t hit the ball that great but I made a couple of good putts and I hit a lot of greens.

“Every time you are up there you have to be pleased and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Dutch golfer Robert-Jan Derksen, in his final season, is two shots behind the leaders, sharing third with America’s David Lipsky. Gregory Bourdy and England’s Chris Woodare next on the board.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood is one of four players four shots off the pace, being joined by Felipe Aguilar, Terry Pilkadaris and Rahil Gangjee.

Like Lawrie, Gareth Maybin and Simon Thornton will also be looking for strong final rounds after both made it to eight under at the end of play on Saturday.

Maybin carded two birdies and had no dropped shots in a two-under 70, while Thornton’s 69 was a mixed bag that included seven birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey five at the par-three 17th.
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McIlroy Rors into Fargo Mix

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Rory McIlroy fired a third round 65 at the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday to reverse the momentum of Friday which saw the two time major champion struggle to stay inside the cut line at Quail Hollow.

Going into Sunday McIlroy holds a share of 11th and six strokes off the lead. 

The mood on Saturday was reminiscent of 2010 and it remains to be seen how close McIlroy can get to repeating his win four years ago.

“It’s the exact same,” said the two-time Major champion, who four years ago also made the cut with nothing to spare, before shooting 66 and a final round of 62 to storm to victory.

“I was one-over (for 36 holes) and the lead was nine-under. I’ve shot one less today so I might not need the 62 I shot in 2010, but I’ll take it.”

McIlroy spent nearly an hour on the putting green after the second round, and the work reaped immediate dividends when he teed off early Saturday.

“I putted much better,” he said after rolling in eight birdies to go with a lone bogey.

“I did some work on the putting green last night and I figured out what I need to do out there and it was a really solid round of golf.

“I didn’t hit as many loose shots as yesterday. I played solid tee to greens but the real difference today was the putting. I holed more putts.”

McIlroy’s score could have been better, because he hit a beautiful wedge shot into the par-four 16th, only to watch his ball clatter against the pin and ricochet 18 feet away.

Followed by a huge gallery enjoying the brilliant sunshine, he had a tap-in par at the par-three 17th before getting up-and-down from left of the par-four 18th by sinking an eight-footer.

“It’s going to take something special tomorrow,” he predicted.


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