Fredrik Jacobson outshines the field to extend his lead in the WGC HSBC Championship
Rampaging Swede Fredrik Jacobson has successfully extended his overnight lead in the third round of the WGC HSBC Championship here at Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China, after another stellar spell of good performance. Carding a five-under,
67 on the third day, Jacobson eased past the rest of the field by two shots. The 37-year-old Jacobson now has a strong chance to bag the coveted title at the end of the season.
Starting off birdies on the three opening holes, Jacobson went over to stumble on the lone bogey of the round at par-four, 9th. He made the turn to card three more birdies to finish two shots better than the fast approaching Louis Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen, whose trailblazing golf yesterday jolted him into contention, settled for a humble four-under, 68 on the third day, finishing for an outright second. The 2010 Open Championship winner is also hoping to break his winless streak at the moment,
despite pulling in strong finishes on a number of occasions.
Australian Adam Scott was another stellar performer on the third day, carding a round of three-under, 69 and though his round was a humble one, his outright third position owes much to his strong performance on the second day where he posted seven-under,
65. His whirlwind round included three bogeys, one double-bogey, six birdies and an eagle at par-five, 18th.
Northern Irishman, Rory McIlroy has finally come out of obscurity, scoring a stunning seven-under, 65 on the third day, without dropping a shot in the 18-hole stretch. He is now settled for joint fourth alongside world number two Lee Westwood with an aggregate
of 12-under, 204. Young McIlroy has a strong chance to take over the world number two spot on the Official World Golf Rankings, in case he is able to outshine the current world number two Westwood.
World number six Martin Kaymer and World number 15 Graeme McDowell are now poised at joint sixth with their solid round s on the third day. McDowell carded a round of 67 while Kaymer carded a 68 on the third day to settle for an aggregate of 11-under, 205.
Both players are desperately looking to break their winless streak for sometime. Both European players have a major title on their belts and are also the top ranked players on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). McDowell has not won a single event this
year after a whirlwind 2010 where he posted several victories. Meanwhile Kaymer won his last event at the start of the year in Dubai and although, pulling in several runner up finishes in the rest of the year, he has not won any event so far.
First round leader and PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley has now dropped to a disappointing joint 11th after his sloppy rounds of 70 and 72. Bradley has a strong chance to be nominated as the PGA Tour Player of the Year in case he wins the
title here in China.
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