By David Ferguson
Young Korean Noh Seung-yul watched the whole field set out ahead of him in Saturday's third round of the Midea China Classic at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Shunde, Guangdong. On a day of low scoring he watched as player after player hit birdie after birdie to chip away at his precious two-stroke lead. When he eventually began his round in the last pair of the day, he saw the closest of his playing partners, the experienced Australian Terry Pilkadiris, demolish that lead with an eagle to Noh's par on the very first hole.
Then he summed up all the experience of his seventeen years to put together a round of 67 and finish the day where he started, two strokes ahead of Pilkadiris with the rest of the field trailing in his wake. Only a bogey on the 17th prevented Noh from recording his third successive 66. That took him back to 13-under, but no-one could have been surprised by his response - a birdie on the last to finish the day on -14 and 199 for the tournament, the only player under 200.
"Terry got off to a good start with an opening eagle. But I did not let that distract me in any way. I continued to play my own game, which was to attack the pins and not make any bogeys," said Noh. "I've been in the leader group only to falter at the last hurdle before. But this time, I believe I've matured and I'm ready to handle the pressure at the final round," he added.
At 34, Pilkadiris would hardly qualify as anybody's idea of a veteran, but he is exactly twice as old as his adversary. He must be wondering what he needs to do to crack the young Korean's precocious confidence. He has put together three rounds of 67, to lie twelve under par for the tournament. After nine holes he was actually in the lead, having played the front nine in a splendid five under par 31 to hold a one-stroke advantage over Noh. But the birdies dried up, and his second consecutive bogey on 14 meant that he finished the day where he had started.
"Playing in the same flight with the young Koreans was a big challenge. The boys were playing so much like seasoned veterans," said Pilkadaris. "However, I hope to draw on all my winning experience to move back into contention tomorrow," added the Australian.
On a day of big moves up and down the leaderboard, Pilkadiris is joined in second place by another Korean, Park Jun-won. Park, only 22 himself, has gone 66, 69, 66, and the two Koreans will again be last out tomorrow morning with Pilkadiris, in what should be a fascinating battle of youngster against even younger.
The two best scores of the day brought Taipei's Lin Wen-tang and India's Rahil Gangjee back into contention. Both shot 64s to equal the lowest round of the week so far. Lin had eight birdies and one bogey for a three-way tie in 4th on -11, while Gangjee had seven birdies and no bogeys, and finds himself a stroke further back alongside Thailand's Somkiat Srisanga.
"Everything went well for me except for that bogey on the fifth," said Lin. This is a very short course where water is seldom in play. As long as you keep the ball out of the bunker, you should be okay. I hope to continue doing what I've been doing the whole week and hopefully add a fourth Asian Tour win to my record," added the three-time Asian Tour winner
Also back in the frame is first-round leader Lu Wei-chih. After a 64 on the opening day he seemed to have blown his chances with a one-over 72 on Friday. But a 66 on Saturday has him once more in a tie for 4th place at -11, three strokes behind the leader.
It was another frustrating day for the home fans. Best-placed of the Chinese mainland players is, almost inevitably, Liang Wenchong. A bogey-free 4-under 67 took him to -8 for the tournament, but short of a repeat of last week's extraordinary opening round of 60 - twelve under par - at the Honda Hero Classic in India, his chances must surely be gone. He is six strokes off the lead, and there are too many good players alongside or ahead of him - one of the eighteen candidates will surely shoot lower. How he must be regretting those three back-nine bogeys on Friday. Without them, he would be at -11, and still very much in the hunt for the trophy.
"We live only about an hour's drive from this course, and my wife and son are watching me play this week," he said. "It's always nice to have your family around cheering you on and hopefully I can raise my game to greater heights tomorrow."
It would be wrong to write him off completely. Golf is a game of endless surprises, and Liang has scaled such heights before. But the winner will surely come from one of the players lying above him on the leaderboard, and it is hard to see the prize going outside of the three men who will tee off in the final group - Noh, Pilkardis, and Park.
Leading third round scores
199 - Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 66-66-67
201 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 67-67-67,Park Jun-won (KOR) 66-69-66
202 - Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 68-70-64, Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 64-72-66,S. Siva Chandhran (MAS) 67-68-67
203 - Rahil Gangjee (IND) 70-69-64,Somkiat Srisanga (THA) 68-67-68
204 - Henry Epstein (AUS) 67-71-66,Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA) 69-68-67,Neven Basic (AUS) 69-66-69,Marcus Both (AUS) 69-66-69
Selected scores
205 - Liang Wen-Chong (CHN) 68-70-67
(China.org.cn October 19, 2008)
