Thailand’s Thammanoon Sriroj overcame the blustery conditions by firing a sparkling nine-under-par 63 to take the third round lead at the US$110,000 Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship on Saturday.
The Thai ignored one of the most challenging weather conditions of the week by marking his card with seven birdies and one eagle for a three day total of 13-under-par 203 at the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green continued to stay in the hunt for his first professional win by signing for a 69 to take second place on 204 while home favourite Lin Wen-tang together with compatriot Wang Wei-lun trail closely in third place on 205 total.
Thammanoon showed glimpses of the form that led him to five Asian Tour titles by recording the day’s lowest score while more than half of the weekend field struggled to break par under the gusty conditions at the National Golf Country Club.
Having lost his Asian Tour card last year, Thammanoon is determined to play his way back into the region’s premier Tour.
And he showed his resolve by storming towards the turn in 32 after carding two birdies and an eagle in his starting back-nine.
Thammanoon then raced clear with five birdies in his inward nine for a one-shot advantage over Green.
“Feels great! It was windy but I managed to stay calm and get the job done today. It will be nice to win again after such a long time and hopefully I can do something special again tomorrow,” said the 46-year-old Thai.
Green meanwhile believes he is better prepared to contend for his first professional victory at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship having blown a five-shot lead on home soil last month.
The talented Malaysian marked his card with four birdies and a bogey but felt it was a deserving score especially under such testing weather conditions.
“It was really windy today and I told myself I’ll take an under-par score anytime. I’m more experienced this time round and mentally, I’m able to cope better. So, it should be a good shootout tomorrow,” said Green.
The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2016.
With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com
Leading third round scores
203- Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA)
204- Gavin GREEN (MAL)
205- WANG Wei-lun (TPE), LIN Wen-tang (TPE)
206- Mathiam KEYSER (RSA), LIU Yen-hung (TPE)
207- Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA), LIN Yung-lung (TPE), TSAI Chi-huang (TPE)
208- LIN Chien-bing (TPE) , Gyeongjun LEE (KOR), LIEN Lu-sen (TPE), KAO Teng (TPE)
