Lu Wen-teh leads into final round

Chinese Taipei veteran Lu Wen-teh emerged as the third round pacesetter at the Bangkok Airways Open on Saturday after leading Thai duo Thammanoon Srirot and Chawalit Plaphol suffered nightmarish outings.

The 42-year-old Lu, enjoying some of the best form of his life in recent times, carded a solid four-under-par 67 at the challenging Santiburi Samui Country Club and will take a one-shot lead into the final round over Thammanoon, who endured a topsy-turvy 74.

Overnight leader Thammanoon struggled to hit form after a rain delay of nearly two hours, mixing five birdies, five bogeys and two double bogeys on the card following a poor driving day.

His cousin, Chawalit, who one off the pace at the halfway stage, was a beaten man as the Santiburi Samui course, which players labelled as a "beast" chewed him up. After previous rounds of 65 and 68, he stumbled to a 79 that included a triple bogey, and fell seven off the pace in the US$200,000 Asian Tour event.

Frankie Minoza of the Philippines battled to an even par 71 for third place on 209, four back, but aptly warned that Sunday's final day showdown could yet prove to be as unpredictable as today's proceedings.

"Four shots is nothing on this course. You cannot get angry out there or else the course will bite you. We saw that today," said the Filipino.

Lu, who has posted four top-10s and a tied 11th in his last six Asian Tour events, was calm and collected in taming the undulating Santiburi course, shooting five birdies against lone bogey. "I just kept it the ball in play and missed only one fairway out there. This course is not long so that is why I'm doing alright this week," said Lu, who has a three-day total of eight-under-par 205.

The ever-smiling Lu has not won a Tour event since 1998 and was also the Thai Open champion back in 1990. But with strong performances of late, Lu is thinking of glory again. "I seemed to have found some form this year. I've been striking the ball well and have kept myself patient on the course," said Lu, who is presently 14th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

"I was surprised to see the leaders drop so many shots. I'll just aim to do the same in the final round, shoot for fairways and greens."

Thammanoon and Chawalit, playing in the last group with Minoza, would want to forget their disappointing rounds quickly. Thammanoon hit only five fairways, a statistic that does not bode well on the undulating Santiburi course on this holiday isle.

A one hour and 45 minutes rain delay knocked the Thai off his stride. "My tee shots were going left and right and I hit only five fairways, which is not good over here. The weather disruption affected me," said Thammanoon.

Thammanoon, a five-time Asian Tour winner, dropped a double bogey on 17 after blocking his drive into a hazard but put recovered, thanks to a glorious eight iron approach from thick rough at the par four last hole, which plays dramatically downhill. "It went straight for the pin. One shot behind Lu is okay," he said. "I used the three wood on 17 in the first two rounds, I'm not sure why I hit a driver today. It was a mistake."

Chawalit, the first round leader and second overnight, played steadily with a birdie on the fourth hole but hooked his drive on the par five ninth hole for the second time this week for a bogey, missing a five-foot par save. He birdied the 11th to tie for the lead briefly before his game went dramatically off the rails.

A calamitous triple bogey six on the 12th hole, a dropped shot on 13, a double bogey on the par five15th and another bogey at the next hole saw him tumble down the leaderboard with a 79. He will enter the last round in tied seventh place on 212, seven shots off the lead.

Minoza, a proven winner with six titles in Japan , was rock solid with birdies on the ninth and 12th holes offsetting bogeys on the third and 10th holes. He made big par saves on 17 and 18, draining an eight footer and chipping close at the last. "I'm hitting the ball good but you have to be patient on this course. The two par saves late in the round kept me in it, I'm hanging in there," said the Filipino.

Sweden's Olle Nordberg and Thai duo Prom Meesawat and Prayad Marksaeng share fourth place on 211, six behind the leader while a further stroke behind are Thailand's Chawalit, Thongchai Jaidee and current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Thaworn Wiratchant and Chinese Taipei's Chen Yuan-chi.

205 Lu Wen teh (Tpe) 69 69 67

206 Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 67 65 74

209 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 68 70 71

211 Olle Nordberg (Swe) 72 71 68, Prom Meesawat (Tha) 71 71 69, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 69 71 71

212 Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 68 76 68, Chen Yuan chi (Tpe) 69 73 70, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70 73, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 65 68 79

213 Uttam Singh Mundy (Ind) 72 73 68, Robin Hodgetts (Aus) 69 73 71, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 69 72 72, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 69 71 73

214 Panuwat Muenlek (A) (Tha) 70 71 73

215 Corey Harris (USA) 75 71 69, Yoshinobu Tsukada (Jpn) 72 73 70, Dean Alaban (Aus) 72 71 72, Matt Keegan (Aus) 69 72 74, Unho Park (Aus) 70 70 75, Kao Bo song (Tpe) 70 70 75

216 Rashid Ismail (Mas) 74 74 68, Eiji Mizoguchi (Jpn) 74 72 70, Andrew Buckle (Aus) 72 73 71, Clay Devers (USA) 74 70 72, Scott Taylor (USA) 69 73 74

217 Digvijay Singh (Ind) 76 71 70, Chinarat Phandungsilp (A) (Tha) 74 71 72, Lu Wei lan (Tpe) 68 72 77

218 Somkiat Srisanga (Tha) 69 78 71, Kwanchai Tannin (A) (Tha) 75 71 72, Steven Tan (Mas) 71 73 74, Darren Griff (Can) 69 72 77

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