Taipei: China’s Liang Wen-chong fired a bogey-free four-under-par 68 under tough conditions to grab a one-shot lead in the penultimate round of the US$650,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Liang, who started the round five shots off the lead, put up a perfect round highlighted by four birdies for a three-day total of five-under-par 211 at the challenging Taiwan Golf and Country Club’s Tamsui course.<\/p>\n
Malaysian Danny Chia battled to a 73 to take second place while overnight leader Rashid Khan of India slipped to third on 213 following a disappointing 75 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which is the longest-running Asian Tour event.<\/p>\n
Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna signed for a 72 to stay four shots off the pace in fourth place while local stalwart Yeh Wei-tze (73), Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond (71), Adilson Da Silva (73) of Brazil and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera (74) shared fifth on 217.<\/p>\n
Liang, who birdied sixth, 12th, 13th and 15th, credited his hot putter for a solid round which put him in prime position for a fourth Asian Tour victory heading into the all-important final round.<\/p>\n
“It’s my first time playing in this tournament but after playing the first two rounds, I felt more comfortable with the course. I tackled the course better today. I played steady out there and it was not much of a problem for me. I was able to play my own game without thinking much.<\/p>\n
“My game was feeling good coming to this week so I just tried to ride on that good form. This is a very special golf course. The conditions can be different every day. I love such a challenging layout because it sets me thinking about my strategy,” said the 36-year-old Liang, whose longest putt of the day came on the 12th where he holed a 15-footer for birdie.<\/p>\n
While immersing himself in the great golfing culture of Tamsui, Liang wants to keep his expectations low.<\/p>\n
“It’s been great being here in Tamsui. I have met a lot of veterans like Lu Wen-teh, Lin Keng-chi and Chen Tze-chung, who has seen me grown as a player over the years. I know this is a place of great golfing history and has cultivated many generations of good players.<\/p>\n
“I don’t want to think so much about tomorrow. It’s hard to say because anything can happen. I just want to enjoy my game out there,” added Liang, who is playing in his first attempt at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.<\/p>\n
Chia, who led the opening round, was three-over-par after 11 holes but rallied back with two birdies in his last seven holes to keep up his chase for a long-overdue second victory on the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n
“It was a bit of a struggle for me out there. I missed quite a few short putts from four to five feet which were really frustrating. It wasn’t as windy as it was yesterday but this is a golf course that will play tough even without the wind. You still have to deal with the tricky greens,” said the 42-year-old Malaysian, who traded four birdies against five bogeys.<\/p>\n
“It was a good comeback with the two birdies on par-fives coming home. I managed to gain some strokes back and I’m happy to remain in a good position for a final charge tomorrow. On 13th, I chipped it to two-feet short of the cup and putted in from there while on 15th, I holed a 10-footer for birdie,” added Chia.<\/p>\n
Despite struggling with a cold putter, Khan is determined to put up a strong charge when he steps up to the tee for the final round. “I am only two shots back so I think I still have a chance tomorrow. I will try my best to catch up,” said the 24-year-old Indian, who mixed his card with one birdie against four bogeys.<\/p>\n
Players will be vying for good showings at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters to boost their chances of qualifying for the prestigious CIMB Classic and WGC-HSBC Champions.<\/p>\n
As of October 26, the leading four golfers from the Order of Merit will earn starting places in the US$8.5 million HSBC Champions in November while the leading 10 players will qualify for the US$7 million CIMB Classic at the end of October.<\/p>\n
Ends.<\/strong><\/p>\n Scores after round 3 of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters 2015 being played at the par 72, 6923 Yards Tamsui Course course (am – denotes amateur):<\/strong><\/p>\n 211 – LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 70-73-68.<\/p>\n 212 – Danny CHIA (MAS) 67-72-73.<\/p>\n 213 – Rashid KHAN (IND) 68-70-75.<\/p>\n 215 – Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 72-71-72.<\/p>\n 217 – Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 75-71-71, YEH Wei-tze (TPE) 71-73-73, Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 75-69-73, Mithun PERERA (SRI) 71-72-74.<\/p>\n 218 – SUNG Mao-chang (TPE) 73-77-68, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 74-72-72, Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN) 69-74-75.<\/p>\n 219 – Boonchu RUANGKIT (THA) 71-77-71, Adam GROOM (AUS) 73-71-75, PAN Cheng-tsung (TPE) 71-72-76.<\/p>\n 220 – Kalle SAMOOJA (FIN) 74-73-73, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 73-73-74, LU Wei-chih (TPE) 75-70-75, Unho PARK (AUS) 75-69-76.<\/p>\n 221 – HSU Hao-sheng (TPE) 76-74-71, HSIEH Tung-hung (TPE) 72-77-72, Himmat RAI (IND) 73-75-73, LIU Wei-hou (TPE) 73-73-75, Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 69-76-76, LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 75-69-77.<\/p>\n 222 – Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 74-76-72, LU Wen-teh (TPE) 76-73-73, Javi COLOMO (ESP) 75-74-73, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 76-72-74, Sam BRAZEL (AUS) 73-73-76, CHAN Yih-shin (TPE) 71-73-78.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Taipei: China’s Liang Wen-chong fired a bogey-free four-under-par 68 under tough conditions to grab a one-shot lead in the penultimate round of the US$650,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Saturday.<\/p>\n Liang, who started the round five shots off the lead, put up a perfect round highlighted by four birdies for a three-day total of five-under-par 211 at the challenging Taiwan Golf and Country Club’s Tamsui course.<\/p>\n Malaysian Danny Chia battled to a 73 to take second place while overnight leader Rashid Khan of India slipped to third on 213 following a disappointing 75 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which is the longest-running Asian Tour event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n