Hoey solid as Aphibarnrat wobbles in Shenzen International
Michael Hoey did his job on moving day when he carded a four under 68 to leap into the top 30 in the inaugural US$2.5million Shenzen International.
The 36-year old, who is chasing a sixth European Tour win, leapt 21 spots into a share of 28th on three under par at Genzon Golf Club.
That’s nine shots behind Kiradech Aphibarnrat but it would have been 12 strokes had the Thai not double bogeyed the 17th and bogeyed the last for a 68 that gave the chasing pack some encouragement.
Aphibarnrat, who was six clear with two to play, still will take a two-shot lead over American Peter Uihlein (71) into the final round. But he was unhappy to miss a short bogey putt on the 17th and then open the door a little wider with a bogey on the 18th, leaving 11 players now within five shots of his lead.
“I make a big mistake on last two holes, that was not the way to finish,” 25-year old Aphibarnrat said. "After I played 14 holes and was still striking the ball well, maybe I thought the job was done. But I made some big mistakes on the 17th and 18th, which gives everyone a chance to catch me tomorrow.
“It’s still been a good day though, I still shot four under for the third round and I’m still two shots in front. I’m still feeling positive, I’ll go to sleep and tomorrow is a new day.”
Shenzhen International Day 3 Highlights – Li sets the standard http://t.co/trQlnK54YK
— Golfing World (@Golfingworldtv) April 18, 2015Aphibarnrat started the day on eight under par, one stroke behind Uihlein, but burst out of the blocks with three straight birdies to overhaul the American.
Either side of two bogey fives, an excellent approach to the sixth hole led to another gain before he made four consecutive birdies around the turn.
But having carded three straight pars to stay on course to equal the tournament’s lowest round of seven under par, set earlier in the day by China’s Li Hao-tong and then matched by Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal, Aphibarnrat’s putting let him down on the last two holes.
Larrazábal occupies third place on nine under par after notching eight birdies at Genzon Golf Club, on the outskirts of Shenzhen.
Hoey had his best day of the week so far, firing five birdies and dropping just one stroke as he went out in 32 before coming home in level by erasing a bogey at the 15th with a birdie four at the 17th.
He drove the ball well and while he would have liked to have hit a few more greens, a tally of 27 putts was another positive heading into Sunday.
Shenzen International, Genzon GC (Par 72)
204 K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 67 69 68,
206 P Uihlein (USA) 67 68 71,
207 P Larrazábal (Esp) 73 69 65,
208 S Hend (Aus) 70 70 68, T Fleetwood (Eng) 70 69 69, E Grillo (Arg) 71 67 70, M Ford (Eng) 69 69 70,
209 K Broberg (Swe) 73 69 67, Y Yang (Kor) 72 71 66, T Lewis (Eng) 72 71 66, L Hao-Tong (Chn) 71 73 65, D Fichardt (RSA) 68 70 71,
210 H Wen-Yi (Chn) 66 74 70, A Levy (Fra) 71 70 69, D Howell (Eng) 71 70 69, A Wall (Eng) 69 72 69,
211 T Hatton (Eng) 72 70 69, M Fraser (Aus) 72 71 68, M Crespi (Ita) 69 70 72, R Fisher (Eng) 69 74 68, G Havret (Fra) 70 68 73, R Ramsay (Sco) 72 73 66,
212 R Wattel (Fra) 69 74 69, R Bland (Eng) 71 71 70, J Kruger (RSA) 71 74 67, J Campillo (Esp) 72 71 69, F Zhi-Peng (Chn) 70 72 70,
213 L Bjerregaard (Den) 72 67 74, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69 73, M Hoey (Nir) 74 71 68, N Fasth (Swe) 73 69 71, W Ormsby (Aus) 73 73 67, G Stal (Fra) 70 74 69, M Manassero (Ita) 69 70 74, S Kapur (Ind) 69 74 70,
214 G Bourdy (Fra) 72 72 70, C Wood (Eng) 75 70 69, G Mulroy (RSA) 69 74 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 72 70 72, H Ze-Yu (Chn) 73 73 68, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 69 75 70, W Wei-Huang (Chn) 70 73 71,
215 L Yan-Wei (Chn) 73 73 69, M Carlsson (Swe) 73 73 69, A Noren (Swe) 73 71 71, R Paratore (Ita) 72 71 72, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 72 72, D Horsey (Eng) 70 71 74,
216 A Sullivan (Eng) 69 75 72, F Aguilar (Chi) 67 75 74, M Madsen (Den) 71 71 74, M Nixon (Eng) 73 73 70,
217 L Gui-Ming (Chn) 74 71 72, A Quiros (Esp) 72 71 74, Z Xin-Jun (Chn) 72 74 71, B Evans (Eng) 75 71 71, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 71 70 76,
218 B Watson (USA) 70 74 74, A Otaegui (Esp) 76 69 73,
219 R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 74 74, J Lando Casanova (Fra) 72 73 74, E Pepperell (Eng) 73 72 74,
220 D Lipsky (USA) 73 68 79,
221 Y Yi-Nong (Chn) 70 73 78,
222 J Carlsson (Swe) 72 74 76, Y Yechun (Chn) 71 75 76,
224 C Lee (Sco) 75 71 78.
