Birdie on the last keeps Kim in hunt
South Korean teenager hits 67, shares lead with Australia’s Herbert at New Zealand Open
>> QUEENSTOWN: South Korean Kim Joo-Hyung had a crucial birdie to thank for a share of the lead with Australia’s Lucas Herbert at the 101st New Zealand Open yesterday.
The teenager, who fired a fourunder-par 67, looked in danger of relinquishing his lead for the first time this week but calmly sank his putt from 10 feet on the parthree 18th to sign for a three-day total of 15-under 199 at the Millbrook Resort.
Herbert made one of the biggest moves of the day, having trailed Kim by six shots when he stepped up on the opening tee spot.
The 24-year-old Australian, who won the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour in January, stormed to the top of the leaderboard with three birdies in his final five holes.
Australia’s Brad Kennedy, who won the event in 2011, closed strongly with back-to-back birdies to trail the pair by two shots in outright third place while American Chan Kim was tied for fourth with Australia’s Nick Flanagan on 202.
Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert signed for a 70 to stay five shots back of the leaders in tied-ninth place with Australia’s Ben Eccles and Kieran Muir.
“I played really well today. I was playing well off the tee and approach to the greens, but I did leave a lot of shots out on the greens to be honest,” Kim, who is based in Thailand, said.
“I’m still in the hunt as I gave myself a really good chance for tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be fun, playing with Lucas is going to be really enjoyable. Obviously, he’s a European Tour winner. Whether
I win or lose tomorrow, I’m just going to really enjoy myself.”
Herbert said: “I was pretty happy with it. I started off quite nicely and got that little three-birdie run through the middle and got myself in a nice position but then straight after that I felt like I really battled my golf swing for a few holes and hit some errant ones.
“To fight back like I did and make some really good swings sort of on 15, 16, 17 and even 18 there to hit it in the middle of the green, I was really proud of that. I think I’ve got a bit of work to do on the range to get ready for tomorrow,” he added.
Pavit said: “I didn’t drive the ball very well today. I couldn’t find the fairways and it was difficult for me to hit from the rough.
“Overall, I’m very happy with the good start on the front nine, three-under-par, so I can still go low tomorrow. My putting is still very good. It will be difficult tomorrow, but who knows.”
LEADING THIRD ROUND SCORES
(par-71)
199 — Lucas Herbert (AUS) 66-68-65, Kim JooHyung (KOR) 64-68-67
201 — Brad Kennedy (AUS) 66-69-66
202 — Chan Kim (USA) 70-67-65, Nick Flanagan (AUS) 68-68-66
203 — Ryosuke Kinoshita (JPN) 72-65-66, Michael Hendry (NZL) 70-66-67, Harry Bateman (NZL) 67-69-67.
204 — Kieran Muir (NZL) 70-65-69, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 70-64-70, Ben Eccles (AUS) 65-68-71
205 — Dimitrios Papadatos (AUS) 70-68-67, Jarryd Felton (AUS) 71-67-67, Cory Crawford (AUS) 68-69-68, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 65-71-69