Adam Scott enters the final round of the Australian Open four shots clear of his nearest rival as he seeks to become only the second player to win the “Triple Crown” of Australian golf.
Scott holed a short birdie putt at the last hole in a round of 68 to move to 16 under par in bright, but testing conditions on the Royal Sydney course yesterday.
Double major-winning Rory McIlroy let slip the opportunity to match Scott’s last hole birdie in a struggling round of 70 for a 12-under-par total.
Photo: EPA
“My short game is good at the moment and I have kind of got my eye in with the putter this week,” Scott said. “But then tomorrow I would rather come out and be hitting it down the middle and take some of that pressure off myself.”
Scott won the first leg of the “Triple Crown,” the Australian PGA Championship, earlier this month and then successfully defended the second leg, the Australian Masters, winning by two strokes last weekend.
If successful in capturing the third leg it will be his second Australian Open triumph in four years and match the effort of fellow Australian Robert Allenby, who first won the “Triple Crown” in 2005.
In addition, if Scott does succeed he also will match Tiger Woods as the only player this season to savor five victories.
“It will be huge for me to win not only a second Australian Open, but the Triple Crown,” Scott said. “I am excited at the moment as I have a great opportunity, but in 18 holes we have already seen a lot of shots swing around. I teed off in these situations before and won tournaments, and I have teed off in these situations and lost tournaments, so all I can do is play as hard as I can.”
The world No. 2 Scott went into day three leading McIlroy by just two shots, but then soon found himself five shots clear of the Northern Irishman when McIlroy bogeyed the fourth and dropped two shots at the fifth.
McIlroy was easily outdriving Scott, but he failed to get the better of his US Masters-winning rival with plenty of indifferent second and third-shot play.
Scott continued to stamp his authority with three birdies in succession from the seventh and while the Australian dropped a shot at the 11th, he then birdied 14 before finishing with four straight pars.
Scott and McIlroy are again to play the final round together, with McIlroy seeking to win for a first time this year.
The Australian trio Matthew Jones (72), Richard Green (73) and Max McCardle (69) are in third place on eight under par.
Australia’s World Cup-winning hero Jason Day birdied five of his six closing holes in an equal-best round of six-under-par 66 to move to a share of 10th place at six under par.
ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP
AP, MALELANE, South Africa
Charl Schwartzel and Morten Orum Madsen shared the lead after two rounds at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Friday and are to square off again at the back end of a tournament.
Schwartzel lost out to Madsen’s late surge in the European Tour’s season-opening South African Open last weekend, but the Alfred Dunhill defending champion shot a second straight 68 at Leopard Creek to draw level with the Dane on eight-under 136 at the halfway stage.
Madsen added a 71 to his opening-round 65 to stay on course for a second title in seven days and extend his early lead on the new Race to Dubai.
They lead by a shot from England’s Ross Fisher and another Dane, Soren Hansen, who both returned impressive seven-under 65s.
John Daly missed the cut in his second tournament back from elbow surgery after a 75 took him to three over par for the tournament.
Schwartzel joined Madsen at the top of the leaderboard with four birdies and no bogeys in his second round. The South African won here by 12 shots last year for his only European Tour victory since his triumph at the 2011 Masters.
Having denied Schwartzel in Johannesburg last Sunday for a maiden tour title, Madsen had a tougher time on the second day in northern South Africa, with two bogeys and two double bogeys. At one point, he dropped four shots in three holes, but also carded an eagle and five birdies to go one under par on the day.
Fisher climbed into contention after four birdies and an eagle in his opening nine, and Hansen had eight birdies overall.
Daly, who had surgery on a damaged right elbow tendon in July, started with three bogeys in his opening nine on Friday, then finished with a bogey and double bogey to miss out on the second half of the Alfred Dunhill.
South Africa’s Hennie Otto, who sits second behind Madsen in the Race to Dubai, was tied for 12th, four off the pace.
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