2007 Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational - Round 3: Prom and Kang battle for third round lead

American stalwart Anthony Kang and Thai young gun Prom Meesawat were in a battle at the top of the field in the third round before play was suspended for the day at the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational on Saturday.

Prom, who is ranked 25th on the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit, chalked up five birdies against a lone bogey with five holes to play on 13 under before play was called off for the day due to inclement weather at the Damai Indah Golf – BSD Course. Kang, who was the joint second round leader, remained steady alongside Prom on day three as he was one under through 11 holes in the US$350,000 Asian Tour event.

Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood battled the gusting winds as he was even-par after 11 holes on 12 under alongside India’s Harmeet Kahloon who was two under through 12 holes. It was a similar run for Australian rookie Neven Basic who is enjoying his best run on the Asian Tour firing two birdies against an equal number of bogeys after 12 holes.

Ashley Hall of Australia grabbed the clubhouse lead after having enjoyed a bogey free four-under-par 68 at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. With a nine-under-par 207 total, Hall was a stroke ahead of compatriot Adam Blyth who posted a 69.

Prior to the third round action, a total of 77 players returned to complete their second round early on Saturday with Englishman Westwood, Kang, Basic and Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wei-chih grabbing the joint second round lead. There were 67 players who made the cut.

The conditions on course remained the same in the third round as play was suspended at 3:28pm due to lightning. A total of 54 players will resume the third round on Sunday at 6:40am local time.

Prom, with one Asian Tour title under his belt, was four under on the front nine before a dropped shot on the 12th hole. He bounced back with a birdie in the following 13th hole and was in the 14th hole sand bunker before the suspension.

“I was coping well with delays this whole week as it did not affect my game. But today it is slightly different because I will resume play tomorrow in the bunker. I am a bit nervous that the situation might disrupt the remaining five holes in the third round but I will put my head down and hope to produce a solid result.

“I putted better today but didn’t take advantage of the par fives on the front nine but it is a tight battle on top so we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” said Prom.

With two birdies against a lone dropped shot, Kang will be hoping to carry his momentum on Sunday determined to stay with the young Thai into the final round.

“It was quite a challenge out there. The wind was the strongest today and it was tough. But it’s been a long time since I’ve been up there and I hope to remain among the leading players when I complete the third round tomorrow morning,” said Kang.

After enjoying triumphs in Japan, Macau and Malaysia, Westwood, who shot one birdie against a lone bogey today, is eager to notch his third win in Indonesia this week.

“It has been a tiring week and very long days. I returned early this morning and completed the back nine with four birdies to be the joint second round leader which was good. I am still in contention now and hope to battle past the windy conditions in my remaining holes in the third round to remain strong at the top,” said Westwood.

Clubhouse leader Hall, competing in his first ever season on the Asian Tour, tackled the tricky conditions with four birdies as he was pleased with his form.

“I played 10 holes this morning to finish off the second round and another 18 holes in the third round. I played 28 holes today so it was a very long day for me. But I coped well and was relaxed out there. I am very pleased with how I performed and didn’t expect to be clubhouse leader. It is a pleasant surprise and I hope to attack the course like how I did today,” said Hall.