South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang put daylight between himself and the rest of the field as ‘moving day’ lived up to its name at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The precociously talented 21 year old went out like a rocket, making five birdies in his first 11 holes before picking up another two shots on the 16th and 18th to complete a bogey-free 7 under par 65 which moved him three clear of the pack at 15 under par heading into today’s final round.
“My iron play and my putting were really good,” said Wang, who was named 2016 European Tour Rookie of the Year after back-to-back victories at the Trophée Hassan II and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. “I’m so happy that I didn’t make any bogeys.
“Finishing with a birdie at the last gives me confidence for tomorrow but I don’t want to think about winning. I just want to focus on my own game.”
Lying in second place are Spain’s Nacho Elvira and South Africa’s Jaco Van Zyl who each signed for 4 under par rounds of 68 to reach 12 under par.
“Obviously it’s a good score,” said Van Zyl. “But I really felt like I left quite a lot out there. I hit it nicely and just didn’t quite capitalise where I could.
“I’ll obviously try and get them back tomorrow, and get some with interest!”
A group of five players are a shot further back at 10 under par. English pair Nathan Kimsey and Andy Sullivan shot 66 and 68 respectively while Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello fired a 66, Sweden’s Joachim Largergren signed for 67 and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat shot 70.
“I scored better on the par fives today, so I suppose that was a positive,” said three-time European Tour winner Sullivan. “I just tried to force it a little bit a couple of times with putts and ended up three-putting. On the whole, I’m pretty happy with 2-under. I wasn’t quite as sharp as the first two days but hopefully I’ll go out there tomorrow, find some fireworks and get up the leaderboard early.”
French pair Romain Langasque and Mike Lorenzo-Vera shot 67 and 69 respectively to reach 9 under par and were joined by Irishman Paul Dunne (70) in a share of 10th place.
“The wind was there, but not much and the course was really good this morning,” said Langasque. “It was easier than yesterday because the wind was less.”
The conclusion of the second round saw 44 players within four shots of the lead. After the third round there were only four as a dramatic climax beckons at the 20th Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
https://worldwide.golf/feature/historic-nine-way-halfway-lead-doha/
