Australian Scott Laycock now leading the Nanshan China Masters alongwith Michael Long
Scott Laycock alongwith Michael Long has finally moved to the top of the leaderboard after his stellar four-under, 68 in the third round of Nanshan China Masters at the Nanshan International Golf Club, Longkou City, Shandong.
Laycock has been performing well in the tournament and carded a round of 67 in the second round. He was one shot better than the overnight leader, Long, in the third round and both players are now tied for the top slot with an aggregate of 10-under.
Laycock stumbled with a bogey on the par-four, 2nd but quickly regained his momentum to pull in three birdies before making the turn. He carded another two birdies on the back nine to move on top of the leaderboard. Long pulled in another fine
display with his third round score of three-under, 69 to remain in contention for the lucrative US$1 million title.
Chinese Xinjun Zhang posted the best round of the day with a seven-under, 65 and is tied for the fourth place along with six players. Zhang pulled in five birdies in his perfect bogey-free round and a stunning eagle at par-5, fifth. Other players tied for
the fourth spot include Ashun Wu, Mitchell Brown, Pavit Tangkamolprasert, Dae-Hyun Kim, and Anthony Summers.
The long-hitter Kim has remained complacent with his minimal gains throughout the tournament and again carded a round of three-under. Kim is considered by many as a formidable contender in the tournament who had bright chances to make it to the top.
Andre Stolz, the aspiring Aussie golfer and winner of this year’s Indonesia PGA Championship on OneAsia Tour, had a rather disappointed day. He opened his front nine with no less than three bogeys at second, third and fifth holes, but also carded an eagle
on par-five, 15th at the last stage to avert a total disaster. He finished his round for one-under to close for aggregate of seven-under, 209.
The tournament since day one has been dominated by the charging Australasians giving little room to the Chinese or the Koreans to soar up the leaderboard. A total of 64 players qualified for the next round following the halfway cut in the $1 million with
$ 180,000 winner’s share.
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