Hong Kong: Asian Tour winners Shiv Kapur of India and Australia’s Wade Ormsby remained firmly in contention for another grandstand finish when they returned with matching four-under-par 66s to trail Wales’ leader Stuart Manley by one after the third round of the US$1.3 million Hong Kong Open on Saturday.
The duo, who have one victory each on the region’s premier Tour, shared second place at the storied championship after Manley signed for a 66 to take his place atop the leaderboard with his three-day total of 10-under-par 200 at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
Defending Spaniard champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, who was recently announced as the playing captain for the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM in Malaysia next year, put himself back into the mix when he signed for a 65 to take a share of fourth place alongside compatriot Lara Jose Manuel and England’s Steve Webster.
Manley, a European Tour Qualifying School graduate, is well placed to clinch his maiden title and is looking forward to finishing the job in his last 18 holes at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
“I’m loving it at the moment. I’ve got nothing to lose and I’m just going to go out there and get it done. I feel very confident with the way I'm playing so I’m really excited about tomorrow,” said Manley.
Kapur will be looking to put a dent on Manley’s title aspirations and notch another Asian Tour victory.
The Indian gave the crowd at the Hong Kong Golf Club a reminder of his talent when he stormed his way back to the top with a flawless 66.
“Today is a day of putting yourself in position. Obviously there’s still a long way to go in this golf tournament, but the more birdies I can make today, the easier it will be for tomorrow,” said Kapur.
As he stands on the verge of another victory at the Hong Kong Open, which is celebrating its 55th anniversary, Kapur is confident he can maintain his good form and return to the winner’s circle again.
“The key is to stay patient and it showed when I was rewarded with my birdies. If I can continue to keep the mistakes off the card, I stand a good chance,” said Kapur, who claimed his maiden Asian Tour title in Thailand during his rookie year in 2005.
Ormsby, who is playing in his second season on the Asian Tour, also believes the race for the Hong Kong Open title is still wide open after limiting Manley’s advantage to one.
“I knew I could make some birdies coming in and I just have to keep the ball in play. So it was nice to be able to do it,” said Ormsby, who traded seven birdies against three bogeys.
The 33-year-old earned his career breakthrough on the Asian Tour in India in April and has since gone on to enjoy another three top-10 finishes in Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.
He is confident of taking the race down the wire when he steps up to the tee for his final 18 holes.
“My game feels good as I made a lot of birdies out there today. There were a few little soft mistakes early on but overall I’m feeling pretty happy,” said Ormsby.
The Hong Kong Open is co-sanctioned by The European Tour, the Asian Tour and the Hong Kong Golf Association and is the third event of The 2014 Race to Dubai, and one of the last on the 2013 Asian Tour schedule.
Leading scores after round 3 of the Hong Kong Open Championship 2013 being played at the par 70, 6699 Yards Hong Kong Golf Club course (a- denotes amateur):
200 - Stuart MANLEY (WAL) 67-67-66.
201 - Shiv KAPUR (IND) 69-66-66, Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 67-68-66.
202 - Steve WEBSTER (ENG) 71-66-65, Jose Manuel LARA (ESP) 69-68-65, Miguel Angel JIMENEZ (ESP) 70-67-65.
203 - Joel SJOHOLM (SWE) 68-70-65, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 66-70-67, Alex CEJKA (GER) 68-67-68.
204 - Jaakko MAKITALO (FIN) 67-71-66, David LIPSKY (USA) 69-68-67, Unho PARK (AUS) 71-66-67, Robert-Jan DERKSEN (NED) 69-67-68, Angelo QUE (PHI) 69-67-68.
205 - Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 72-67-66, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 68-70-67, Oliver FISHER (ENG) 68-70-67, Richard FINCH (ENG) 70-67-68, Andrea PAVAN (ITA) 65-72-68, Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 68-68-69.
