Calum aiming to climb the Hill to secure his maiden Euro Tour title
Scotland’s Calum Hill birdied his final two holes yesterday to grab a share of the lead heading into today’s final round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
The 25-year-old had led by one after 36 holes, but on a day of low scoring he found himself in a tight battle at the top of the leaderboard throughout round three.
A bogey on the 16th saw the Challenge Tour graduate drop two shots off the lead, but he produced that big finish to get to 16-under alongside Belgian Thomas Detry and Frenchman Antoine Rozner.
Hill claimed two wins on the Challenge Tour last season to earn his place on the European Tour and is now looking for a first top-tier victory in just his sixth event.
“It was nice to have a couple of birdies to finish off and sneak back into a tie for the lead,” said Hill.
“I’m happy with how it finished off.
Hill birdied the par-five second only to give the shot straight back on the next, before a hat-trick of gains from the fifth had him back in a share of the lead at the turn.
He flew the green with his second and then played a clumsy chip to drop that shot at the 16th before two long putts on the 17th and last had him back on top.
He said: “The scoring was good out there, if you played well.
“I hit a lot of nice shots to start off the back nine until the par five, but couldn’t get my putts to drop, I really needed to hit it six inches harder on every hole.
“Then on the par five – if you get your driver right it should be a birdie today or even better – I managed to drop it into the hazard. I got lucky, and managed to whack it out and save par.
“Eight-under tomorrow might do it. I could do with another one of those and I might be able to come in with a smile on my face.”
Rozner also birdied the last in a 66, while Detry did the same in his 67.
The Belgian said: “I’ve been in this position a few times, I was there three weeks ago at Sun City. I’ve got some experience in this domain so let’s just play our own game and have fun like we have the last three days.
“Sometimes you over-think a few things instead of just letting it go. I think it’s all about keeping it simple. Just play like you have been playing in practice rounds. It’s easy to say, but I think that’s how you approach the fourth day.”
Dane Rasmus Hojgaard and American Sihwan Kim were a shot off the lead, with Hill’s fellow-Scot Connor Syme at 13-under and countryman Grant Forrest a shot further back.