Macau Open
Macau Golf Club
Macau
30th April - 3rd May 1998

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Big hearted Morales takes the lead by one shot

Macau, 2nd May 1998 - Rookie Venezuelan pro Gilberto Morales relied on his "big heart" today as he moved into a one shot lead after the third round of the Omega Tour's US$200,000 Macau Open at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

Morales, the only player still under the card, posted four birdies and three bogeys for a one under 70 and heads the leaderboard at one under par from Taiwan's Lu Wen-teh, who returned a one over 72.

"It's real hard out there and I'm just trying to play with a lot of heart and patience," said 21-year-old Morales, who won the 1992 Optimist World Junior Championships after defeating second-placed Tiger Woods by three shots. "It's a very narrow course and this makes it very difficult to keep the ball in play - thankfully my short game is in good shape at the moment
and I managed to get up-and-down on five of the holes."

The former University of Nevada player went out in a two under 33 and returned with a one over 37. "The key hole for me today was probably the 10th, where I did well to make a bogey after pulling my tee shot into the bushes," added Morales.

"This allowed me to keep the run going from my front nine. But it's still anybody's ball game – it's hard to predict what will be needed to win tomorrow, so I intend to just go out and stick to the same game plan as the last three days."

Third-placed Chen Lian-hsi of Taiwan moved into contention after establishing a new course record 67 over the 6,622-yard Macau layout. The three-time Taiwan PGA Order of Merit winner fired five birdies and a solitary bogey, touring the front half with a three under 32 and coming home with a one under 35.

"The pin positions were a little easier today and the greens also played a little slower - more like the greens I'm used to back home in Taiwan," said 38-year-old Chen. "Yesterday I felt a little under pressure, so today I tried to slow everything down, relax and take more time – you need to be very careful with your judgement over this course."

Chen made headlines in 1993 when he defeated England's Nick Faldo in the finals of the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews. Today the former world number one fared little better in his bid to play his way out of a recent slump that has now seen him go six rounds without breaking par.

"I actually played half decent for the first six or seven holes, and gave myself a few good birdie chances – but once again my putting was very poor," said Faldo after carding three bogeys and one birdie for a two over 73. "I couldn't make one birdie putt today which was unbelievable."

The six-time major champion, lying tied for 22nd spot on six over par, has managed only two birdies and an eagle in 54 holes of golf over the Macau layout. Asked if this slump was any different to others in his career, Faldo replied: "It's the same as other slumps I've had – a slump is a slump. You just try to work on a few things and wait for them to come good. I worked on my tempo last night and thought I'd found something to move forward with – but it doesn't help when you keep on two-putting."

Fellow US PGA Tour player Vijay Singh fared a little better over a layout which is proving to be far more challenging than at first expected. Singh fired five bogeys and three birdies for a one over 72 and lies in joint 14th place six shots off the lead.

"You can't really play your normal game on this layout because it's so narrow and if you miss the fairway you can get stuck in the long rough," said Singh, the holder of five US PGA titles.

"But I felt like I played very decent today, and I'll be a lot more aggressive tomorrow - if I shoot a 66 then I've still got a good chance of winning."

Overnight leader Zhang Lian-wei of China suffered a strained back on the fifth hole and dropped back into joint fourth place after carding a three over 74.