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Hsieh looks for Taiwan Open victory

Taiwan's Hsieh Yu-shu shades his eyes from the sun yesterday as he studies the green before putting at the 18th hole during the third round of the NT$10.4 million Acer Taiwan Open at the 6,450m Sunrise Golf and Country Club course in Yangmei, Taoyuan County. PHOTO: AP

Taiwan's Hsieh Yu-shu (謝玉樹) swept aside compatriot and halfway leader Kao Bo-song (高柏松) yesterday for a golden chance of taking the US$300,000 Acer Taiwan Open.

The Tamshui-based professional leapt to the top of the leaderboard with an impressive 3-under-par 69, for a total of 216.

He has a lead of four shots over defending champion Andrew Pitts going into what should be an exciting final day, at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Yangmei, Taoyuan County, near Taipei.

Pitts tried to keep mistakes down to a minimum as he collected a 1-over-par 73, for a total of 220 and said he was in with a good shot of winning again.

Brad Kennedy of Australia was five shots behind the leader on 221, while Thailand's Thammanoon Sriroj and Chris Williams from South Africa joined Taiwan's Hsu Mong-nan (許孟男) in fourth place, with 222 after three days of play.

Hsieh made the most of challenging conditions, as strong winds blew across the fairways and reduced scores across the board.

Taiwan Open leaderboard Hsieh Yu-shu, Taiwan, 75-72-69_216 Andrew Pitts, United States, 75-72-73_220 Brad Kennedy, Australia, 78-69-74_221 Hsu Mong-nan, Taiwan, 73-79-70_222 Thammanoon Sriroj, Thailand, 75-73-74_222 Chris Williams, South Africa, 78-70-74_222 Adrian Percey, Australia, 78-72-73_223 Pablo Del Olmo, Mexico, 78-72-73_223 Chung Chun-hsing, Taiwan, 75-74-74_223 . James Kingston, South Africa, 80-67-76_223 Danny Chia, Malaysia, 76-70-77_223 Kao Bo-song, Taiwan, 73-70-80_223 Source: TT

"Perhaps I am more used to the wind than the others. I am a natural long-ball hitter and everything went well," Hsieh said.

The 41-year-old narrowly missed out on the Alcatel Singapore Open last year, coming second, but has had a lean spell on the Asian PGA Tour since winning domestic titles in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

After his round, Hsieh said he would celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with his family and have a barbecue before getting an early night.

"I'm not worried about my rivals, I've just got to play my own game," he said. "I'm not thinking about what the winning score might be tomorrow, I just want to win."

His countryman and leader after two days, Kao Bo-song had a meltdown yesterday, getting off to the worst of all possible starts.

He overhit the green on the first hole, lost a shot, had problems with his approach play and double bogeyed.

The amateur player triple bogeyed the 12th hole but managed to grind out an 8-over par 80 and is still in contention, though seven shots behind Hsieh.

"Now I know what it feels like to get an 80," Kao said. "Nevertheless, this has been a good experience which I can accept and I will try again tomorrow.

Pitts said he would play his natural game today and take advantage if Hsieh dropped some shots.

"If he [Hsieh] goes out and plays solid and doesn't make any mistakes then he'll win because it's going to be hard to go out there and shoot a really low score and make up ground.

"If he goes out tomorrow and shoots well the tournament should be his. Hopefully, I'll just hang around and get a chance on the last holes," Pitts told the Taipei Times.

"I've played a lot of tournaments here in Taiwan, so I know what to expect. I just have to be patient."

Golf legend Gary Player scored a respectable 75, for a total of 230 and though he is 14 shots off the pace, he said he was pleased with the way he had been playing.

The 67-year-old South African will hold a golf clinic for local junior players today.
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