Wei-chih leads into final round

Chinese Taipei's Lu Wei-chih set up an intriguing battle of the ages with two-time champion Lu Wen-teh after he grabbed the third round lead in the US$400,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Wei-chih battled to a two-under-par 70 at Taiwan Golf and Country Club's Tamsui course and will enter tomorrow's final round one stroke ahead of the experienced Wen-teh, who is 15 years older.

The elder Lu is the only player in the tournament's history to win the title twice in 1994 and 1996 and he remained in contention after a roller-coaster 70. American Ron Won, playing in his rookie season on the Asian Tour, charged into the title frame with a blistering 66, the day's low score, for tied third place alongside overnight leader Lin Wen-tang, who carded a 73.

Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant, the title holder and last week's Taiwan Open champion, failed to keep up pace, shooting a 73 which left him six shots adrift.

"I want to win but I must try to not get ahead of myself," said Wei-chih, who is searching for his maiden victory after turning pro in 2002. "It's the first time that I'm leading into the last day of an Asian Tour event and I will try to treat tomorrow as another day."

Wei-chih, playing on his home course, birdied the second, third and seventh holes from close range before dropping shots on 10 and 12 after missing the greens. He recovered with a short birdie putt on 13 and pulled off some crucial par saves to streak ahead of the field with a three-day score of six-under-par 210.

"I putted really well. I missed seven greens but got up and down on some holes to save pars," said Wei-chih, whose best outing on Tour was a third place finish at last year's Tianjin Teda Open in China after he closed with a 61.

At 42, Wen-teh rolled back the years on a course where he has fond memories. It was an up-and-down day though for the seasoned campaigner, shooting a birdie and giving away a stroke almost immediately on four occasions. But a strong birdie, birdie finish over the last two holes ensured his place in the final pairing.

"I misjudged some of my distances out there. It was really up and down. I would birdie one hole and then give away a shot. I will try my best tomorrow to win," said Wen-teh.

The 24-year-old Won charged up the leaderboard with five birdies and eagle while third round leader Lin overcame a sluggish start where he was three over par through 10 holes before salvaging a 73 to stay in the hunt for a first Asian Tour title.

Australian Kurt Barnes returned a 71 for a 213 total, three off the pace while a further stroke back was Wei-chih's older brother, Lu Wei-lan, who stayed on the fringe of contention with a 70.

Thaworn, the current Order of Merit leader, shot two birdies against three bogeys for a 216 total.

Leading third round scores

210 - Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 71-69-70

211 - Lu Wen-teh (TPE) 70-71-70

212 - Ron Won (USA) 73-73-66, Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 70-69-73

213 - Kurt Barnes (AUS) 76-66-71

214 - Lu Wei-lan (TPE) 74-70-70

215 - Chen Yuan-chi (TPE) 71-74-70

216 - Andrew Pitts (USA) 72-74-70, Wang Ter-chang (TPE) 71-74-71, Ross Bain (SCO) 75-71-70, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 74-69-73, Gilberto Morales (VEN) 70-73-73

217 - Gary Rusnak ( USA ) 72-72-73, Pat Giles (AUS) 73-70-74

218 - Matt Keegan (AUS) 74-72-72, John Wither (SCO) 74-72-72, Jason Dawes (AUS) 75-71-72, Chris Rodgers (ENG) 73-72-73, Jason Knutzon ( USA ) 72-73-73, Scott Strange (AUS) 71-72-75

219 - Chapchai Nirat (THA) 72-75-72, Gary Simpson (AUS) 74-73-72, Arjun Singh (IND) 75-72-72, Shiv Kapur (IND) 74-72-73, Hsu Mong-Nan (TPE) 68-78-73, Olle Nordberg (SWE) 71-73-75

220 - Atthaphon Prathummanee (THA) 74-74-72, Gaurav Ghei (IND) 75-73-72, Scott Barr (AUS) 71-77-72, Uttam Singh Mundy (IND) 76-72-72, Pablo Del Olmo (MEX) 76-71-73, Rick Gibson (CAN) 74-72-74, Angelo Que (PHI) 71-74-75

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