Dartnall leads Allan and Brown at Midea China Classic
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Australian Stephen Dartnall, a former world number one amateur, shot a three-under-par 68 to move to 10-under and hold a two-stroke lead after the third round of the US$1 million Midea China Classic, OneAsia's eighth event of the year.
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Stephen Dartnall. |
Dartnall, 26, will again play in the last group with good friend Mitchell Brown, who carded a 69 to share second place at eight-under with Stephen Allan. The ‘Smiling Assassin', a former PGA Tour regular, posted a 67 at Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Shunde, south of Guangzhou.
Big-hitting Korean Bang Doo-hwan blasted a best-of-day 66 over the 6,893-yard Nick Faldo design to lie six-under and share fourth spot with Scotland's Simon Yates (68) and Australians Kim Felton (66) and Andre Stolz (70).
Defending champion Liang Wenchong bogeyed three of the first five holes on his way to a second successive 71 that left him seven shots off the pace and in a share of 12th.
Dartnall, whose parents flew up from Perth to cheer him on this week, opened with a birdie before recording only his third bogey of the tournament at the par-four fourth. After a birdie at the seventh, he broke clear with back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16.
"I started off pretty scrappy and managed to get out of jail a few times on the front nine, but I played solidly on the back nine and hope I can take that into the final round. I'll just try to be as relaxed as I can," said Dartnall, who tied for 21st in last week's Kolon Korea Open.
"It will be good to play with Mitchell again. We played a lot together as amateurs when we were teenagers and he's a good guy, so we like to chat on the course. I know Stephen Allan from OneAsia and because we both play in the US, so it should be fun."
Dartnall is leading a four-round event on the final day for the first time as he targets his first major victory, having finished tied for third in the 2008 Australian Open and fourth in last year's New Zealand Open.
"I'll just do what I've been doing the last three days and play my own game. My parents have flown up for the week and it's the first time they've watched me this year. If I win, I'll probably buy them a McDonald's to celebrate!" he joked.
Brown, who was also a world number one amateur, is looking for his second title of the year following his impressive win in the New Zealand PGA Championship in January.
