Graeme McDowell kept himself in pole position in the third round of the WGC-HSBC Champions with a one under par 71 in tricky conditions at Sheshan International Golf Club.
The Northern Irishman had three birdies against two bogeys on a cold, windy day at the Shanghai venue to move to 11 under overall, one shot clear of Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata (68) and two clear of Germany’s Martin Kaymer (66) and American Bubba Watson (69).
Reigning US Open Champion Kaymer, the champion here in 2011, had the lowest round of the day thanks to seven birdies, while Watson, who won the Masters Tournament for the second time earlier this year, recovered from a double bogey six at the tenth with four birdies in the last five holes.
Another American, Rickie Fowler, is another shot back at eight under, alongside South African Tim Clark. Both players signed for rounds of 69.
The WGC-HSBC Champions is the second event in The Race to Dubai’s Final Series, a lucrative four-tournament swing to culminate the 2014 season.
Quotes
Graeme McDowell
“I was generally happy with the way I hit the golf ball. I didn’t quite score as well as I did the last couple of days but I really gave myself some confidence from a ball‑striking point of view that I can get the job done tomorrow. Conditions were more difficult, colder, and the overnight rain made the course play a little bit longer. I tried to just execute a conservative game plan when I could and try to rely on the putter. I hit a lot of good putts today that didn’t go in and that’s probably the main difference between shooting one under and three or four under today.”
Martin Kaymer
“Finally I could make some putts today. The first two days I played really well but the putter was a little cold. Today was even more important to hit the fairways. Once you were in the rough, it was wet, thick rough, and it’s tough to get it on to the green, especially on that golf course where you have a lot of bunkers around the greens. I’ve driven the ball really well for three days and I think that was key for my scoring. Obviously you need a little help from Graeme in order to win but I’m playing really well and that’s all I can do.”
Bubba Watson
“I was playing pretty well and then I had that hiccup on the tenth, and then missed a short one on the 12th, but I made some solid birdies down the stretch which really helped a lot. The golf course played a little longer today. With the irons, the ball is not travelling as far because it’s cold. It’s maybe one club more in this temperature. I think I just missed out on playing in the final group tomorrow but overall it was a good day.”
Round 3 scores:
205 G McDowell (Nir) 67 67 71,
206 H Iwata (Jpn) 73 65 68,
207 B Watson (USA) 71 67 69, M Kaymer (Ger) 69 72 66,
208 R Fowler (USA) 69 70 69, T Clark (RSA) 69 70 69,
209 T Olesen (Den) 72 68 69, I Poulter (Eng) 70 67 72,
210 J Blixt (Swe) 71 68 71,
212 L Westwood (Eng) 70 73 69, B Snedeker (USA) 69 74 69, M Leishman (Aus) 72 71 69, C Kirk (USA) 69 74 69, L Oosthuizen (RSA) 70 70 72,
213 H Mahan (USA) 74 68 71, A Levy (Fra) 74 68 71, W Ashun (Chn) 74 70 69, A Scott (Aus) 70 72 71,
214 G Coetzee (RSA) 72 73 69, J Holmes (USA) 70 71 73, J Dufner (USA) 72 70 72,
215 S Gallacher (Sco) 72 72 71, P Reed (USA) 71 73 71,
216 J Spieth (USA) 70 74 72, M Warren (Sco) 75 72 69, H Matsuyama (Jpn) 74 69 73, B Haas (USA) 70 74 72, J Donaldson (Wal) 71 77 68, P Larrazábal (Esp) 75 72 69,
217 D Van Der Walt (RSA) 70 72 75, J Luiten (Ned) 77 71 69, R Moore (USA) 74 71 72, J Walker (USA) 73 69 75,
218 A Lahiri (Ind) 74 70 74, T Fleetwood (Eng) 69 75 74, K Na (USA) 71 68 79, E Els (RSA) 74 70 74, R Palmer (USA) 74 72 72, B Todd (USA) 71 74 73, J Senden (Aus) 73 73 72,
219 S Garcia (Esp) 74 72 73, K Hyung-Sung (Kor) 70 74 75, J Rose (Eng) 72 71 76, T Bjørn (Den) 72 75 72,
220 O Wilson (Eng) 71 70 79, L Donald (Eng) 74 72 74, D Fichardt (RSA) 74 72 74, K Streelman (USA) 77 72 71, M Siem (Ger) 72 72 76, R Henley (USA) 71 75 74,
221 H Otto (RSA) 74 72 75, S Lowry (Irl) 78 69 74, F Aguilar (Chi) 76 74 71,
222 L Wen-Chong (Chn) 75 74 73, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 76 75, M Ilonen (Fin) 75 76 71, M Jones (Aus) 75 76 71, K Bradley (USA) 72 73 77, M Every (USA) 75 72 75, H Stenson (Swe) 70 71 81, G Woodland (USA) 73 75 74,
223 H Mu (Chn) 78 71 74, Z Lianwei (Chn) 73 76 74, D Ze-Cheng (Chn) 76 73 74, D Lipsky (USA) 78 73 72, L Hao-Tong (Chn) 75 72 76,
224 M Hendry (Nzl) 76 75 73,
226 M Jiménez (Esp) 78 75 73,
227 C Schwartzel (RSA) 74 76 77, J Knutzon (USA) 78 74 75, S Stallings (USA) 74 76 77,
228 J Van Zyl (RSA) 70 75 83, A Lascuna (Phi) 76 79 73,
230 Y Takeya (Jpn) 77 78 75,
236 B Horschel (USA) 80 77 79,
239 J Jeong (Kor) 85 79 75,
** V Dubuisson (Fra) 76 77 WD,
** B Ninyette (Aus) 86 DQ 0, K Stadler (USA) RT 0 0, G Delaet (Can) RT 0 0,
