Taipei: Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Chi-hsien continued his charge towards his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) win when he signed for a five-under-par 67 to take the third round lead at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship on Saturday.
Hsieh, who held the overnight lead, posted a three-day total of 11-under-par 205 to extend his advantage by two over England’s Grant Jackson and Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao at the US$110,000 ADT event, which is the richest on the Schedule.
Jackson and Hung signed for a 68 and 66 respectively to take a share of second place on 207 while a trio of Chinese Taipei players that include Lin Wen-hong, Lien Lu-sen and Yeh Wei-tze are tied for fourth on matching 208s at the National Garden Golf Course in Taipei.
Hsieh started his round strongly with his first birdie on the par-five third. He parred the next three holes before marking his card with further birdies on holes seven and nine to turn in 33.
Hsieh then continued his birdie blitz on holes 12 and 13 before a bogey-five on the 15th hole set him back momentary. He recovered quickly with another birdie on the 16th hole before cruising home in 67.
“I played really solid all-day and I couldn’t have asked for a better showing. It would have been better if not for that bogey on the 15th but it’s okay. I’m still in the lead and I’ll do my best for the last 18 holes tomorrow,” said Hsieh.
The Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship is set to showcase the region’s aspiring professionals on the ADT, which recently received a massive boost when it was awarded Official World Golf Ranking status from 2013 onwards.
With golf returning to the Olympics in 2016, the ADT will become a platform for emerging players from across Asia to have the opportunity to play their way to Rio De Janeiro.
From next season, all winners of ADT events will receive a minimum of six World Ranking points while the top-six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.
Launched in 2010 with the aim of creating a career pathway for professional golfers in Asia, a record total of 12 events will be played this season with the top three finishers on the Order of Merit earning Asian Tour cards for 2013.
By Indian Sports News Network