Victorian Geoff Ogilvy is one round away from capturing his second Australian title after a five-under par 67 at The Lakes Golf Club yesterday.
None of Taiwan’s three players took part yesterday after failing to make the cut.
On a total third-round score of 200, Ogilvy extended his lead over fellow Australian Matt Jones (71) to five strokes, with Australians Greg Chalmers (66) and Alistair Presnell (67) one shot further back in equal third at 10-under.
John Senden (70), the 2006 Australian Open champion, is lurking in equal fifth at nine-under alongside fellow Australian Matthew Griffin (72).
American David Oh (67) and Australia’s Bronson La’Cassie (68) share seventh place at eight-under.
With only 18 holes of play left in the Australian Open, the tournament — which is co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the PGA of Australasia — looks to be firmly in Ogilvy’s hands.
Trading birdies with his playing partner for the duration of the front nine, it wasn’t until Jones bogeyed the seventh that Ogilvy looked to have the tournament firmly in his control.
Ogilvy’s game couldn’t be faulted until the final hole of the day when the World No. 43 missed the 18th green to finish with the only bogey of his round.
“It’s never nice to finish like that no matter what you shoot,” said Ogilvy, although it didn’t take him long to look at the positives. “I feel I played well and made the most of the day.”
“I’ve been blessed so far — I haven’t had to hit a shot in the rain,” he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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