Saturday, October 16, 2010

Martin leads in Portugal; Harrington eyes first victory since U.S. PGA

Spain's Pablo Martin will take a three shot lead going into the final round of the Portugal Masters at Vilamoura after posting a stunning third round 63.
Martin's round included two eagles -- at the third and fifth holes -- and five birdies. But it wasn't the best round of the day.
That honor went to Denmark's Jeppe Huldahl who shot an incredible 11-under par 61 leaving him tied for second place with England's Owen Wilson who finished the day with a round of 65.
The Dane's round included a run of seven straight birdies -- which equals the European Tour record -- and 12 in total.
Afterwards, the 28-year-old admitted that he had thought about trying to become the first player to score a 59 on the European Tour.

"Thoughts of shooting a 59 did cross my mind on my second shot at 17. But I chickened out in the end because the pin at the 17th was in a very tight position and I missed the green left." Huldahl said, BBC Sport reported.
Tournament leader Martin was in contention at the same stage last year but fell away with a final round 77.
"I will try to play better than I did last year," Martin said. "I was playing with Lee Westwood in the fourth round who went on to win," Martin said, BBC Sport reported.
Ryder Cup players Ross Fisher and Miguel Angel Jimenez are just about in contention heading into the final round. Fisher is seven shots off Martin's pace on 11-under, while the Spaniard is two shots further back on nine-under.
The Molinari brothers had a disappointing day. Edoardo is currently in a tie for 49th place on seven-under par after posting a round of 70, while Francesco is shot further adrift -- his fine second round 62 has been canceled out by two rounds of 74 -- in a tie for 54th place.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, Padraig Harrington is closing in on what would be his first victory for two years at the Johor Open.
The Irishman currently leads by five strokes going into the final round despite being restricted by a neck injury.
"If I wasn't leading, I would have definitely pulled out," Harrington said, BBC Sport reported.
The three-time major winner hasn't won since securing U.S. PGA title back in 2008.
Harrington's nearest challengers are second-placed Lin Wen-tang of Taiwan, who shot an even-par 72 on Saturday, Singapore's Mardan Mamat lies third after a two-under par 70.
South Korea's Noh Seung-yul (who posted a third round 71) and Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat (69) are currently in a tie for fourth.
Europe's victorious Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie finished the day in a share for seventh place after shooting his best round of the year. A four-under par 68 leaves him tied on seven-under par with defending champion K.J. Choi.

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