Gavin comes alive in last four holes to stay within sight of title

BETTER late than never.

Gavin Kyle Green came alive in the last four holes by firing a brace of birdies to stay within sight of a European Tour breakthrough after the third round of the Maybank Championship yesterday.

Struggling after his first birdie on the fifth, Gavin rediscovered his form just in time to record birdies on the 15th and 16th for a three-under 69 at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.

That put him in a tie for 26th on 10-under 206, five shots behind leading duo Jorge Campillo of Spain and Dylan Frittelli of South Africa.

The reigning Asian Tour No. 1 said being five shots behind wasn’t too big of a deficit.

“I’m disappointed that I was unable to shoot a low round but fortunately, I’m still within striking distance,” said Gavin.

“Overall, it was still a good round. It was a grind but I managed the ups and downs to finish strongly at the end. Anything can still happen tomorrow.

“Everybody is bunched up. If I can get off to a good start tomorrow, then I’ll be right in the mix.

“I won’t do anything crazy because if you are in the rough, it can punish you. I want to keep the ball on the fairway as much as I can and when the birdie opportunities come, I’ll take it.”

Gavin’s previous best Maybank Championship outing was tied 47th last year.

Amir Nazrin Jailani will be the only other Malaysian joining Gavin in today’s finale as Nicholas Fung and Ben Leong fell victims to the European Tour secondary cut ruling.

The European Tour’s third-round cut rule, introduced in June last year, is similar to the US PGA Tour.

If 78 or more players make the 36-hole cut in a tournament, then there will be a secondary cut after the third round.

The Maybank Championship saw 81 men qualify from the initial 156man field.

Nicholas and Ben were among eight players who faced the chop yesterday.

Nicholas carded a 74 to be placed joint 74th on two-under 214 while Ben finished a further stroke back in tied 76th following a dismal 77.