Hinton goes two clear, Scotland fights back
abu dhabi — Zane Scotland displayed his remarkable ball-striking skills to haul himself back into contention with a sevenunder 65 as he finished three shots off the pace going into the final round of the Ascorp Golf Citizen Abu Dhabi Open at Yas Links on Tuesday.
Starting the day a good six shots behind, the 34-year-old Englishman spiced his round with nine birdies, picking up four shots on the front nine and five on the home stretch, overcoming a double bogey on the ninth when his approach found the water.
The tournament low score thus far left Zane Scotland in solo third as his fellow Englishman Craig Hinton kept his nose in front, reaching 10-under after a secondround 68, two clear of Lee Corfield, also of England, who fired back-to-back 68s to remain within touching distance of the title.
The English duo of Liam Crawford and Joe Heraty shared fourth a further shot back on six under on a day when all players wore black ribbons as a mark respect for great Arnold Palmer, who left for the links in the sky on Sunday.
Scotland, a frequent visitor to leaderboards, sounded pleased to get his rhythm back. “Feeling good about my game for the first time in few weeks. I struck the ball really well and got into the zone on the back nine,” said Scotland, an 11-time winner on the Mena Golf Tour.