Young
gun Nick Dougherty of England birdied the final three holes for
a four-under-par 68 to rock star names Colin Montgomerie and Thomas
Bjorn and take a two-shot lead over the duo into the final round
of the Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2005 today.
Dougherty (pictured) led by one over defending champion Montgomerie
and three over Bjorn at the start of the day and looked like surrendering
that advantage before his sensational finish which thrilled the
large crowd at Laguna National Golf and Country Club.
He was two adrift of his playing partners as they stood on the
16th tee after Bjorn had chipped in for an eagle at the par-five
15th and Montgomerie birdied. The pendulum swung back in Dougherty's
favour at the devilishly difficult par-three 17th where he birdied
and both Monty and Bjorn bogeyed for a two-shot swing.
Dougherty is on 13-under-par 203 for the US$1 million Caltex Masters
presented by Carlsberg which is jointly sanctioned by the Asian
Tour and European Tour. Denmark's Bjorn had a 67 with Scotland's
Montgomerie shooting a 69.
"It is a job well done," said the 22-year-old Dougherty,
who is a protege of multiple Major winner Nick Faldo. "To win
this and record my first European Tour win, I have to beat two of
the game's great players - that is fantastic, that is why I play
the game."
China's Liang Wen-chong leads the Asian Tour challenge in joint
seventh spot after a 71 put him on seven under 209 for the tournament
but he is six adrift of leader Dougherty. It could have been better
for Liang if it was not for back to back bogeys on the 14th and
15th holes.
Angelo Que of the Philippines, the winner of the Carlsberg Masters
2004 Vietnam last November, is a shot behind Liang in equal ninth
place after his third straight 70. Last year's Macau Open champion
Jason Knutzon also shot a 70 to join Que on 210.
"I was playing really well and then I hit those two bogeys,"
said Liang, who is trying to emulate compatriot Zhang Lian-wei who
won the Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg in 2003. "I played
those holes badly and missed a short putt on the 14th. But I still
have hope that I can record a good finish."
Que dropped his only shot of the day at the tricky par-three 17th
and was pleased with his overall play. "I am very happy being
in the top 10 after the third round in a tournament
like this - it is tough because there are so many good players
here this week," said the 27-year-old Que. "I let a few
birdie opportunities get away today with bad putts but the rest
of my short game was good.
"After winning last year I am really relaxed as I know I can
play a lot of tournaments over the next few years. With the pressure
off the aim is to make cuts, make money and hopefully win again."
Malaysia's Danny Chia, the winner of the 2002 Taiwan Open who was
in third place with Liang after the second round, shot a disappointing
75 to slip back to joint 23rd. He had four bogeys and a solitary
birdie.
Dougherty, a former European Tour rookie of the year, said that
he was nervous playing with Montgomerie and Bjorn but enjoyed the
experience. "I was a bit shaky at the start, there is a lot
of pressure playing against guys I watched on television doing great
things when I was growing up," said the personable Dougherty.
"But I played my own game and taking a two shot lead going
into the final round tomorrow against them is awesome."
Seven-time European Tour number one Montgomerie said that he was
looking forward to the Sunday showdown. "There is nothing wrong
with my golf and it is just that I have not holed enough birdie
putts," he said.
"There is all to play for tomorrow - I came from four strokes
back last year so I am in a much better position."
Bjorn had an eagle, seven birdies, a double bogey and two bogeys
in a topsy-turvy round. "It had everything. There was a lot
of good stuff in there but there were a couple of mistakes as well,"
he said. "I'm not playing my best but I am getting it around
the golf course as well as I can."
Leading third round scores
203 - Nick Dougherty (ENG) 68-67-68
205 - Colin Montgomerie (SCO) 65-71-69, Thomas Bj?rn (DEN) 72-66-67
206 - Peter Hedblom (SWE) 71-69-66, Maarten Lafeber (NLD) 69-70-67
210 - Jason Knutzon (USA) 69-71-70, Angelo Que (PHI) 70-70-70,
Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 70-68-72
211 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 73-71-67, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 72-71-68,
Marcus Fraser (AUS) 71-70-70
212 - Costantino Rocca (ITA) 72-73-67, Mo Joong-Kyung (KOR) 72-72-68,
Kim Felton (AUS) 70-73-69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (FRA) 69-74-69,
Graeme Mcdowell (IRE) 74-69-69, Robert Coles (ENG) 72-69-71, Paul
Marantz (AUS) 73-68-71, Raymond Russell (SCO) 73-67-72
213 - Marcus Both (AUS) 75-69-69, Corey Harris (USA) 75-69-69,
Peter Senior (AUS) 72-71-70, Lee Westwood (ENG) 70-73-70, Rick Gibson
(CAN) 72-70-71, Danny Chia (MAS) 68-70-75
214 - Peter Lawrie (IRE) 74-72-68, James Kingston (RSA) 73-73-68,
Philippe Lima (POR) 76-68-70, Zhang Lian-Wei (CHN) 72-72-70
Young
gun Nick Dougherty of England birdied the final three holes for
a four-under-par 68 to rock star names Colin Montgomerie and Thomas
Bjorn and take a two-shot lead over the duo into the final round
of the Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2005 today.
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