Mohammad Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh put himself in prime position to secure a second Asian Tour victory by taking the third-round lead of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters yesterday.
Barely a month since becoming the first Bangladeshi to win on the Asian Tour, Siddikur registered a superb five-under 67 for a one-stroke lead with a three-day total of five-under 211 at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club.
Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who is one of the most consistent players on the Asian Tour this season, stayed in touch with the leader with a 70 for a 212 total at the US$500,000 Asian Tour event. South Africa’s Peter Karmis, who won his maiden Asian Tour title at the Handa Singapore Classic last month, posted a 71, two off the pace, while Taiwan’s Chan Yih-shin and Lu Wei-chih, a former Mercuries Taiwan Masters champion, lay in tied fourth place on a 216 total. Asian legend Hsieh Min-nan of Taiwan, who at the age of 70 years and 53 days now holds the record as the oldest golfer on the Asian Tour to make the halfway cut, posted a solid 75 for a 226 total.
Photo: AFP/Asian Tour
Siddikur made the turn in 32 and carded his only blemish of the round on the 10th, but recovered with birdies on holes 13 and 15.
“This is my best round so far and it was good. I got off to a good start and my ball striking was as good as yesterday. Everything just clicked for me,” said Siddikur, who learned the game by fashioning his first golf club with a seven-iron head on a piece of metal rod.
Pariya has four top 10 finishes so far this season and he hopes to translate his impressive form into a victory tomorrow. The 26-year-old turned in 34 highlighted by an eagle on the par-five seventh hole after his seven-iron approach shot flew for about 165 yards before landing four feet from the pin.
He was disappointed not to take advantage on the back nine, where he posted nine straight pars.
“There was nothing else I could do because I gave myself enough opportunities and I just couldn’t go lower,” the graduate from Purdue University in the US said. “My eagle was one of those lucky shots because I was aiming for the edge of the green, but it somehow landed near the pin.”
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
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