Green fight hard to maintain his performance
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Gavin Kyle Green had to fight hard to maintain his performance in his debut at the WGC-HSBC Champions.
After the third round at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, Green currently stood at joint 21st place with Daisuke Kataoka of Japan, Englishman Paul Casey and local hero Wu Ashun on four-under 212.
In yesterday's round, the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader got off a bit shaky when he dropped three alternate bogeys starting from the first hole but recovered it with two birdies at the eighth and 14th holes for a one-over 73 score.
"I started off a little shaky today. I didn't hit it very good to start. I was getting frustrated, and towards the end of the first nine, I was able to flip it around a little bit. Got two birdies,” said Green, who is making his first appearance in a World Golf Championship event which offers a lucrative total prize money of US$9.75 million (about RM41.4 million).
“Missed a lot of putts coming down the stretch but I think the important thing is I gave myself looks and stopped the bleeding, basically. I'm enjoying it, so it's good. The fans are great,” he added.
He remains hopeful of repeating his first round form with a birdie-run in today's final round.
"I'm hoping for an under-par round tomorrow. That's my goal. Doesn't matter how many. I'll just try and get as many as I can,” said the 23-year-old as quoted in the Asian Tour official website, www.asiantour.com.
Meanwhile, world number one Dustin Johnson of the United States remains the player to beat after he extended his advantage to six shots over compatriot, Brooks Koepka with a third round four-under-par 68.
Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Johnson would cap off another commanding performance with his three-day total of 17-under-par 199.