2007 Motorola International Bintan - Round 3: Storming finish earns Gibson one shot lead

Canadian veteran Rick Gibson produced a storming finish with two birdies to snatch the third round lead at the inaugural Motorola International Bintan on Saturday.

Gibson, 45, battled to a three-under-par 69 on a sun-kissed Ria Bintan Golf Club to top the leaderboard on 10-under-par 206, one shot clear of Korea's Mo Joong-kyung (66) and overnight leader Adam Blyth (72) of Australia in the US$350,000 Asian Tour event.

Chinese Taipei's Lu Wen-teh rewrote the course record with a blistering 64 to charge into a share of fourth place with former Australian Open winner Peter Fowler, compatriot Unho Park, American duo Jason Knutzon and Clay Devers and Korea's Park Jun-won.

Gibson, a multiple winner in Canada and Asia, surged ahead of a crowded leaderboard with a glorious finish with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, which plays spectacularly towards the South China Sea.

He conceded being lucky on the penultimate hole after landing in a divot on the fairway. "There's not a whole lot of bailout on that hole as there's the ocean on the left and back of the green. I actually pulled my eight iron to end up four feet of the pin, I'll be honest about that!" said Gibson, chasing his first win since the 2002 Philippine Open.

The Manila-based Gibson signed off in style, nailing an exquisite seven iron to three feet at the signature par three hole at the last with its green nestled on the rocky beachfront. The Canadian took last week off to rectify flaws in his game with a swing coach and hopes it will lead him to glory. But Gibson warned that the 18th will be make-or-break on Sunday.

"Day by day, the swing is getting better. It'll be under the microscope a bit tomorrow," he said. "The pin on 18th is dead centre of the green today. Tomorrow is going to be back left as I saw the yellow spot there, it could be decisive tomorrow."

Mo, 35, charged up the leaderboard with six birdies against no bogeys to give himself a chance of winning the Motorola International Bintan, promoted by Global Premier Sports. The Korean wielded a hot putter as he enjoyed matching halves of 33s.

Playing in his first event of the year after spending a month in Las Vegas working on his game at the Butch Harmon Academy, Mo hopes to be come out on top on Sunday. "I played pretty good over the last two rounds and hit good putts which didn't go in. Today, I hit it better and holed a few," he said.

Mo won on the Asian Tour in 1996 but has concentrated mainly on the domestic circuit in Korea, which he won once last year. "I started seeing a coach last August because I thought my game needs an improvement. And after I went home, I won a golf tournament (Kaya Open in Busan). I said 'hey, this is definitely working'," he smiled.

Blyth fought back from being two-over through 13 holes, sinking a birdie on the 14th from 12 feet and nearly rolling in an eagle on 16 to end the day one back. "It was a bit of a struggle out there, the first time leading into the third round," said the 25-year-old, who is chasing his first Asian Tour win. "I was a bit nervous and made a few bogeys in the middle of the round. It was very important for me to get back to even par."

Lu, 44, was hot on the greens for his eight birdies, which was the third straight day that a course record has been established in the Motorola International Bintan. "The first two rounds, I played well but the putts didn't want to drop in. Today, it fell and I needed only 26 putts. That was quite nice," said Lu, a two-time winner in Asia.

"After my round yesterday, I spent time on the practice green. I wanted better rhythm in the putting stroke and I found something and took it out to the course. I've got a chance, hopefully I can keep playing well. On this course, you can never tell, anyone can easily shoot 64 or 63 out there."

If the smooth-swinging Park can pull off a maiden win at the Motorola International Bintan on Sunday, it would cap one of the greatest comebacks in Asian Tour history. He started his tournament with an outward 41 on Thursday but is now 13-under-par through his last 45 holes to lie two behind Gibson.

"I'm very happy, considering how I started the week. On the first day, I was trying too hard and on the back nine, I just slowed down a bit. Hit some loose shots and lost a couple of balls. I was thinking of going back on Friday but on the back nine I started dropping a few putts and also chipped in for one eagle," he said.

Leading third round scores

206 - Rick Gibson (CAN) 68-69-69

207 - Mo Joong-kyung (KOR) 70-71-66, Adam Blyth (AUS) 70-65-72

208 - Jason Knutzon (USA) 69-71-68, Park Jun-won (KOR) 68-71-69, Unho Park (AUS) 71-68-69, Clay Devers (USA) 68-70-70, Mark Brown (NZL) 66-71-71, Lu Wen-Teh (TPE) 71-73-64, Peter Fowler (AUS) 68-69-71

209 - Airil Rizman Zahari (MAS) 69-69-71, Scott Strange (AUS) 69-67-73

210 - Lin Keng-Chi (TPE) 68-72-70, Scott Barr (AUS) 71-69-70, Yasin Ali (ENG) 69-71-70, Panuwat Muenlek (THA) 69-69-72, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 70-68-72, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 70-67-73, Mike Cunning (USA) 66-69-75

211 - Masaya Tomida (JPN) 70-72-69, Steven Jeffress (AUS) 71-72-68, Artemio Murakami (PHI) 72-68-71, Adam Groom (AUS) 70-70-71, Tatsuhiko Takahashi (JPN) 70-69-72, Angelo Que (PHI) 69-69-73, Gareth Paddison (NZL) 70-68-73, Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 70-68-73, Ted Oh (KOR) 67-69-75

212 - Chapchai Nirat (THA) 69-72-71, Taichiro Kiyota (JPN) 70-71-71, Corey Harris (USA) 72-67-73, David Gleeson (AUS) 71-68-73, Lucas Parsons (AUS) 71-67-74

March 24, 2007

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