Big-hitting Australian Scott Hend yesterday carded a six-under-par 66 in the third round to take a one-stroke lead in the Thailand Classic.
Hend, the winner of the Driving Distance category on four occasions since 2009, took his total to 15-under, one ahead of Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (69) and three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee (67) of Thailand.
Another local hope, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, posted a 70 to be at fourth spot in the US$2 million tournament, cosanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.
Photo: AFP / ASIAN TOUR / Paul Lakatos
Hend made birdies on the second and seventh holes, but his game went up a gear after making the turn at the Black Mountain Golf Club.
He added another shot on the 10th, sank an eagle three on the 609-yards 13th and picked up further gains on the 15th and 17th before giving up one on the last for his day’s only blemish.
“It was a good round and puts me in a good position,” Hend said. “I played very solidly and putted quite well. I only made one mistake so it was pretty good.”
“This is where you want to be, in the last group on a Sunday,” he added. “I’ll be playing with Thongchai again and Miguel so it’ll be a good little test tomorrow.”
Overnight leader Jimenez stayed in the hunt with a spotless round of 69.
“I’m playing well and hitting it well,” the 51-year-old said. “I missed a few putts, but I’m creating lots of chances. It could have been five or six-under today, but that’s the game and you have to take it.”
Tournament ambassador Thongchai also matched Jimenez in going bogey-free and was confident he had the game to challenge Hend in the final round.
“I played really well again today. I managed to hit 17 greens and gained lots of confidence from my finishing hole which I birdied,” Thongchai said.
“This course favors the long hitters. Just look at Scott Hend, he was getting on the greens in two on all of the par-fives. On 17, he could even reach the green from the tee! My style is not so aggressive, but I will use my accuracy and putting and try to go low tomorrow.”
Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao got off to a blistering start, with birdies of four of his first five holes, but a double bogey on the seventh turned his fortunes around as he dropped several more shots to end the day on an even-par 72.
That gave the 24-year-old an overall six-under-par 210 and dropped his ranking 20 places to be tied for 36th, nine shots off the pace.
His compatriot Lu Wei-chih had missed the cut on Friday after carding a one-under-par 143 after the first two rounds.
Additional reporting by Jenny Munro
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