Sweden’s Johan Edfors brilliantly birdied his closing two holes for a two-shot lead after the third round at the inaugural Black Mountain Masters yesterday.
The 33-year-old overcame a mid-round wobble at the Black Mountain Golf Club before bouncing back with a one-under 71 to maintain the lead he has held since the opening day.
Edfors’ three-day total of 203, 13-under, put him clear of England’s Chris Rodgers, who burst into contention with a bogey-free 67, and Australian Jason King, who carded a 69 for a share of second place at the Asian Tour event.
Indian youngster Anirban Lahiri was a further stroke back after a 67, alongside Australian Chris Gaunt, who shot a 66. Thai star Thongchai Jaidee gave himself a chance with a tidy 67 that left him four behind the leader.
Edfors, a three-time winner in Europe, was cruising at two-under through seven holes before dropping bogeys on the eighth and 12th and a double-bogey at 11 when his tee shot caught a gust of wind and ended up in the water.
“I played really solid and felt like I was cruising. Then I made a sloppy bogey on eight with a bad tee shot, and then I thought I hit a good tee shot on 11 and was really surprised to see it end up in the water,” Edfors said.
An outrageous birdie conversion from the fringe of the 17th green saw the Swede go back into the lead.
He gave himself a cushion going into today’s final round with a textbook birdie on the par-five 18th.
Rodgers showed a welcome return to form with five birdies. He credited Hua Hin-based Scotsman Simon Yates, who is out of Tour duty with injury, and caddie Chris Longbottom for guiding him into contention.
“Simon has given me some inside information on how to play this course and it’s helped. One of his friends, Chris, who is also a professional golfer here, is also caddying for me and telling me how to play the course,” said Rodgers, who has missed three cuts and withdrew from another from five starts this year.
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