World No. 9 Paul Casey, searching for his first European Tour win since 2009, powered into a share of the lead after the third round of the Volvo Golf Champions on Saturday.
The Briton cruised to a six-under 66 to tie with Swede Peter Hanson (67) on 16-under 200 in the inaugural event at the Royal Golf Club.
Britain’s Darren Clarke and South Africa’s James Kingston carded matching 67s to take joint third place on 201, while Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (69) was fifth on 202.
Casey, without a European Tour victory since landing the flagship PGA Championship title in May 2009, bagged four birdies and an eagle in his round.
Hanson won twice last year to earn his first Ryder Cup cap, but he predicted a difficult final day in his bid to claim the stunning crystal trophy.
“I am expecting a tough day, especially when you have players like Casey and Darren Clarke also in contention,” said the Swede, who reeled off three birdies and an eagle in five holes from the seventh.
Former Open champion Todd Hamilton enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the leaderboard after firing a course-record equaling 64 for an 11-under tally of 205.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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