Montgomerie & Casey top leaderboard

Chawalit Plaphol set up an intriguing final day shootout with Ryder Cup stars Colin Montgomerie and Paul Casey after the trio finished atop of the leaderboard after the third round of the TCL Classic on Saturday.

Chawalit, the smooth-swinging Thai, fired a six-under-par 66 at Yalong Bay Golf Club to force his way into the joint lead with Scotsman Montgomerie and England's Casey, who both carded matching 68s for a three-day total of 16-under-par 200.

A shot back is Danish star Thomas Bjorn and Australian Terry Pilkadaris, winner of the Asian Tour's Sanya Open at the last professional event played at the Yalong Bay course. The US$1 million TCL Classic is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour. Bjorn and Pilkadaris moved into the title frame with 68s.

Montgomerie bounced back from three consecutive bogeys on his front nine to give himself a chance of retaining the TCL Classic, which he won when the event was last staged in 2002. A top-two finish on Sunday will also get him into next week's The Players Championship, touted as the unofficial fifth Major and potentially the Masters next month.

"The conditions were very difficult today and I was delighted to be able to birdie both 17 and 18. That has given me a chance to defend the title and that's what we wanted," said the seven-time European Order of Merit champion.

After his front nine hiccups, Monty was confident he could fight back. "Patience is always the key in golf. You have to be patient and have to be careful and I was today. I made a slip-up with bogey-bogey-bogey, but I came back for five-under-par the rest of the day from there, which was very good. I'll sleep well tonight, have a nice Chinese meal and come back and see what we can do tomorrow."

Chawalit will keep his game plan simple as he hopes to land his second Asian Tour title ahead of the European stars. "My plan was the same today as the first two rounds … just keep it on the fairways, hit the greens and make some putts.

"But with the strong wind today, it was a lot harder. For example, number 10 was difficult, as it was against the wind. Today I hit a three-iron for my second shot and just made the green. Yesterday, I hit a five-iron," said the winner of the 2004 ANA Open on the Japan circuit.

However, after a slow start, a chip-in for an eagle-two at the seventh hole highlighted a strong close to the front nine and set the Thai on his way to the top of the leaderboard. He feels his style of play could pay dividends on the final day.

"If there is a strong wind tomorrow, I think I have a good chance. I do not particularly like the wind, but I have a low ball flight so it works well. But I do not drive it so far, so it will depend on the wind direction," said Chawalit, who is hoping to join compatriot Thongchai Jaidee as a winner on the European Tour.

Casey, who also won last year's WGC-World Cup with Luke Donald, endured another up-and-down day to keep well and truly in the running for his first individual title since the 2003 Benson & Hedges International Open.

Unfortunately, neither of the overnight leaders was able to make a charge, although both Alejandro Quiroz and Choi Gwang-soo remain on target for a lucrative payday on Sunday. Quiroz rallied from a slow start to return an even-par 72 to lie in a tie for sixth just two shots off the lead, with Choi's 73 seeing him finish tied for 21st.

Two-time Asian Order of Merit champion Kang Wook-soon, lying equal sixth, Paul McGinley, who is tied for 10th, and Michael Campbell, at joint 16th, are amongst those within four shots of the lead, well in contention with the number of birdies available at Yalong Bay Golf Club.

Zheng Wen-gen continued to share of the role of the leading mainland Chinese player, this time alongside Liang Wen-chong at eight-under-par 208, good for a tie for 42nd position. Zhang Lian-wei and Li Chao are tied for 53rd, one shot further adrift, with Shang Lei at six-under 210 (T61).

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