BLACK MOUNTAIN MASTERS RELATED STORIES Black Mountain Masters home page Black Mountain Masters Preview Round 1: Edfors fires course record to lead by two Round 2: Edfors stretches lead with Minoza in pursuit Round 3: Edfors maintains lead but cut to two Round 4: Edfors wins wire-to-wire as Prayad surges Final Scores & Prize Money About the course Six to watch this week Parnevik leads strong Scandinavian challenge Prom looks to Dad to help him make a splash Prayad has two Masters objectives Thongchai still motivated to climb more mountains Strong support for Black Montain Masters Full details of the Black Mountain Golf Club Asian Tour Order of Merit after the Black Mountain Masters MORE ASIAN GOLF NEWS Old Guard Show Form In Philippines Mike Kerr New Asian Tour CEO Nirat Eyes Title In Philippines 2012 Performance Stats Hiratsuka Hopes To Defend In Myanmar Sponsors Show Support For Philippine Open Champions Head To Myanmar 84 Players Make Final Stage

Edfors maintains lead but cut to two

Sweden’s Johan Edfors brilliantly birdied his closing two holes for a two-shot lead after the third round at the inaugural Black Mountain Masters on Saturday.

The 33-year-old overcame a mid-round wobble at Black Mountain Golf Club before bouncing back with a one-under-par 71 and hold onto the lead which he has held since the opening day.

Edfors’ three-day total of 13-under-par 203 put him clear of England’s Chris Rodgers, who burst into contention with a bogey-free 67, and Australian Jason King, who carded a 69 for a share of second place at the US$500,000 Asian Tour event.

Indian youngster Anirban Lahiri was a further stroke back after a 67 alongside Australian Chris Gaunt, who shot a 66. Thai star Thongchai Jaidee gave himself a chance with a tidy 67 leaving him four behind the leader.

Edfors, playing on a sponsor’s invite, was cruising at two under through seven holes before dropping bogeys on the eighth and 12th holes and a double bogey at 11 when his tee shot caught a gust of wind and ended up in the water hazard.

“I played really solid and felt like I was cruising. Then I made a sloppy bogey on eight with a bad tee shot and then I thought I hit a good tee shot on 11 and was really surprised to see it end up in the water,” said Edfors, a three-time winner on the European Tour.

An outrageous 40-foot birdie conversion from the fringe of the 17th green saw Edfors go back into the lead and he gave himself a cushion into Sunday’s final round with a textbook birdie on the par five 18th, where he is now 12-under on the par fives after three rounds.

“It was nice to get it back together and still have the lead. I’m hitting my driver really good, doing that today as well. The par fives are playing easy for me and it’s nice to take advantage,” said Edfors.

Rodgers, winner of the 2006 Qualifying School and Pakistan Open, showed a welcome return to form with five birdies. He credited Hua Hin-based Scotsman Simon Yates, who is out of Tour duty with injury, and caddie Chris Longbottom for guiding him into contention.

“Simon has given me some inside information on how to play this course and it’s helped. One of his friends, Chris who is also a professional golfer here, is also caddying for me and telling me how to play the course. Between him and Simon, I’ve got it covered,” said Rodgers, who has missed three cuts and withdrew from another from five starts this year.

The 21-year-old Lahiri showed India’s growing strength in depth by charging into contention, just days after making a change in his putting technique. “I didn’t think I would have caught up with the leaders but they were coming back which was surprising,” he said.

“I putted horribly on Thursday and yesterday I made a change with my stroke and stood a bit more upright with my hands as the putter wasn’t sitting on the ground like it should. Then today, it fell into place. I started making those five, six footers.

“I’m just going to enjoy myself tomorrow. Nobody expects anything from me and neither do I, which can be an advantage.”

Thongchai, third on the Asian Tour Order of Merit after his win at the Indonesia Open in March, gave himself a chance with a seven-birdie round. “The first two rounds, I didn’t make any putts but today was a lot better. The leaders are not far from me, so it gives me a chance,” said Thongchai.

Countryman Chapchai Nirat, who posted a record 32-under-par victory at the SAIL Open in India last week, three putted from three feet on 18 to settle for a 71 which left him in tied 10th place on 208.

Prayad Marksaeng, who needs a top-three finish to safely hold on to his 50th place in the world rankings and secure a place in the US Masters in two weeks time, shot his week’s best of 67 for equal 15th position on 209.

Leading third round scores (click here for full leaderboard):

203 - Johan Edfors (SWE) 64-68-71
205 - Chris Rodgers (ENG) 70-68-67, Jason King (AUS) 68-68-69
206 - Chris Gaunt (AUS) 67-73-66, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 69-70-67
207 - Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 71-69-67, Keith Horne (RSA) 68-71-68, Peter Cooke (AUS) 67-70-70, Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 66-71-70
208 - Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 71-71-66, Kodai Ichihara (JPN) 72-69-67, Angelo Que (PHI) 68-73-67, Wu Ashun (CHN) 69-69-70, Chapchai Nirat (THA) 69-68-71
209 - John Parry (ENG) 74-69-66, Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 70-72-67, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 69-69-71
210 - Blair Wilson (AUS) 70-71-69, Simon Griffiths (ENG) 70-71-69, Kim Dae-hyun (KOR) 74-66-70, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 75-65-70, Artemio Murakami (PHI) 68-71-71, Darren Beck (AUS) 69-66-75, Frankie Minoza (PHI) 67-68-75

March 28, 2009