Lorenzo-Vera leads Spanish Open by one shot after three rounds
SOTOGRANDE, Spain – Mike Lorenzo-Vera of France shot a par-71 third round to take over the lead of the Spanish Open on Saturday.
The new leader, who has never won on the European Tour, eagled the 17th hole to build a two-shot advantage, but a bogey on his last left him one stroke ahead of a trio including Germany’s Martin Kaymer (71), Joost Luiten of the Netherlands (70), and Andrew Johnston of England (74).
“I’m very excited,” Lorenzo-Vera said. “I’m going to have a big nap tonight because it takes so much energy to stay patient here. I’m just going to try to relax and enjoy it as much as I can tomorrow.”
Defending champion James Morrison (74) and fellow Englishman Ross Fisher (72) were another shot back.
Heavy winds kept scores low at the Valderrama course for a second straight day. On Saturday, only Luiten and Alex Noren shot rounds under par.
Lorenzo-Vera, whose double bogey on No. 4 was sandwiched by birdies, said the key was to remain calm even when struggling to make par.
“I’m just trying to look at the pace of the leaderboard and accept that you’re going to have a lot of bogeys here,” he said. “A bogey on the hole is never really a bad score so you just try to accept it. Take the bogey and get out of there.”
Chawrasia wins Indian Open after four runner-up finishes
NEW DELHI – India’s SSP Chawrasia pulled off a two-shot win over defending champion Anirban Lahiri and Korea’s Jeunghun Wang with a birdie on the final hole Sunday at the US$1.66 million Hero Indian Open.
Chawrasia shot 71 for a 15-under-par 273, two better than Lahiri (69) and Wang (68). It was his third European Tour win and the fourth on Asian Tour. Lahiri, the reigning Asian Tour No. 1, missed his birdie attempt on the final hole while Chawrasia struck a third shot from the rough that landed within three feet of the cup at the Delhi Golf Club.
“It is a very important day for me. I have finished second four times in the Indian Open and every time that happened to me I wondered if I would ever be able to one day be the champion,” said Chawrasia, who won US$276,660.
“Anirban is a great player and a fine sportsman and I enjoy my duels with him,” Chawrasia said. “ Now quite possibly both of us will go to the Olympics as part of the Indian team.”
“There was a lot of pressure on me on the last hole,” he said. “This win means so much to me. I don’t know how I will celebrate it. I will let my wife (Simantini) do that for me. Last year when I lost, she was crying so now we can both enjoy this victory together,” he said with a smile.
“It was pretty intense. I got off to a great start but lost a bit of momentum after that,” Lahiri said. “I gave myself a lot of chances but missed quite few from 15-20 feet but at the end of day, SSP hung tough and played very well.”
“There is nothing sweeter than being the Indian Open champion. It was a disappointing finish after a promising start for me. But I am so happy for SSP. This win is huge for him,” Lahiri added.
Wang, a member of Team Asia at the EurAsia Cup earlier this year, came close to winning his first Asian Tour title, settling for a bogey-free 68 highlighted by four birdies.
Conners is a shot off lead at windy Lexus Panama Classic
RIO HATO, Panama – Playing in tough, windy conditions on the Panamanian Pacific coast on Saturday, nobody was able to make as many birdies as Derek Rende at Buenaventura Golf Club. His eight-birdie performance for a 5-under 67 rewarded him with the Lexus Panama Classic outright lead thru 54 holes.
A native of Tennessee who is making just his second career start on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Rende is at 9-under 207 for the week. He will enter Sunday’s final round holding a one-stroke lead over Argentina’s Emilio “Puma” Domínguez and Canada’s Corey Conners.
Domínguez made the best move of the day, carding a bogey-free 66 that matched the lowest score of the week, moving him from a tie for 24th into contention.
Conners, a Team Canada Young Pro Squad member, fought hard for a 2-under 70 that kept him only one shot off an overnight lead he was sharing with Colorado’s Tom Whitney, who shot 72 to drop to solo fifth, and Puerto Rico’s Edward Figueroa, who slipped down into a share of the eighth spot.
Hend holds off local challenger to win Thailand Classic
HUA HIN, Thailand – Scott Hend of Australia shot a final-round 68 to beat Piya Swangarunporn of Thailand by a stroke to win the Thailand Classic at the Black Mountain Golf Course on Sunday.
Hend rolled in five birdies against one bogey for an overall total of 18-under-par 270 to win his second European Tour event.
The Australian, who holed a crucial birdie on the 17th hole to take the lead, says “I’m very proud to win this title.”
The win marked the 43-year-old golfer’s second Asian Tour title in Thailand after the 2013 Chiang Mai Classic and the eighth on the Asian Tour.
Piya, 32, had his best result on the Asian Tour after he shot a tournament record 63 on Sunday that included seven birdies and an eagle on the 10th to finish one back.
Hend shoots 70 to retain lead in Thailand Classic
HUA HIN, Thailand (AP) – Scott Hend of Australia shot a 70 to retain the lead after the third round of the Thailand Classic on the par-72 Black Mountain Golf Course.
The 43-year-old Hend produced five birdies for a three day total of 14 under-par 202 to take a two-shot advantage Saturday over Peter Uihlein of the United States.
“I knew it was going to be a tough day, very windy so I’m very pleased,” said Hend, in search of his eight Asian Tour title. “It’s not very often you get a chance to lead a tournament on a Saturday night, let alone on a Sunday.”
Uihlein, the first-round leader, shot four birdies for a 69 and 12-under-par 204.
Belgium’s Thomas Pieters scored the lowest round, a bogey-free 66 for a three-day total of 205 to share third place with Sweden’s Pelle Edberg.
Hend takes share of lead with Edberg at Thailand Classic
HUA HIN, Thailand – Scott Hend took a share of the lead alongside Pelle Edberg by shooting an 8-under 64 Friday in the second round of the Thailand Classic.
The Australian, who was the runner-up last year, is tied with Edberg at 12-under 132 overall. He had six birdies and an eagle at the Black Mountain Golf Course
“It’s good to get into position once again for the weekend,” Hend said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Edberg (67) carded seven birdies and two bogeys.
Panuphol Pittayarat (65) was a stroke behind in third, while first-round leader Peter Uihlein (71) is three shots off the lead.
Defending champion Andrew Dodt shot a second straight 73, failing to the make the cut at 142.
Canada’s Richard T. Lee also missed the 36-hole cut. He shot 74-74 to finish at 148 (+4).
Uihlein leads by a shot after 1st round of Thailand Classic
HUA HIN, Thailand – Peter Uihlein hit nine birdies and a bogey in an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Pelle Edberg on Thursday in the first round of the Thailand Classic.
The American started his round on the 10th hole with two straight birdies before losing a stroke on the 12th. He went on to card seven more birdies at the Black Mountain Golf Course.
“Hit some good wedges, some good iron shots. It was good,” Uihlein said. “I birdied the first two holes and then duck-hooked into the water on the next.”
Edberg also had nine birdies, but a pair of bogeys left the Swede a stroke behind.
Scott Jamieson and Javi Colomo (66) share third place.
Oosthuizen wins in first Australian appearance
PERTH, Australia – Louis Oosthuizen made his first tournament appearance in Australia a winning one, shooting a 1-under 71 for a one-stroke victory at the Perth International on Sunday.
The former British Open champion, who led by three strokes going into the final round, finished with a 16-under total of 272 in the tournament sanctioned by the European and Australasian PGA tours.
Alexander Levy of France was second after a 66, followed by West Australian golfer Jason Scrivener, whose 69 left him in third place, two strokes behind.
American Peter Uihlein (71) and France’s Gregory Bourdy (66) were tied for fourth, three behind Oosthuizen.
Canada’s Richard T. Lee carded a final round 74 and finished tied for 22nd at 7-under 281.
Canada’s Richard T. Lee sits 6th at Perth International
PERTH, Australia – Former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen shot a 5-under 67 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the Perth International.
Oosthuizen, making his first tournament appearance in Australia, had a 54-hole total of 15-under 201 on the Lake Karrinyup Cointry Club course.
American Peter Uihlein (71) and Romain Wattel of France (65) were tied for second, with Australia’s Jason Scrivener another stroke back after a 69.
Oosthuizen, who had seven birdies, dropped two shots over his final three holes.
“I lost a bit of concentration on 16, worrying too much on the way about where the pin position was,” he said. “It was right on a slope. Those things happen. As long as they don’t happen when you are tied for the lead with three shots to go.”
Overnight leader Uihlein bogeyed the 18th hole and took six shots on the 135-meter, par-3 12th when he hit his tee shot to the back of the green and struggled to recover before taking two putts to finish.
Australian Brett Rumford was five strokes behind after a 73, while Marcus Fraser, who won last week’s European tour event in Malaysia, shot 65 to move up the leaderboard, six behind Oosthuizen.
Fraser was tied with Mikko Korhonen of Finland (66), Canada’s Richard Lee (68), Mardan Mamat of Singapore (69) and Alexander Levy of France (70).
Uihlein, Rumford share 2nd-round lead in Perth
PERTH, Australia – Overnight leader Peter Uihlein of the United States shot a 4-under 68 and was tied for the second-round lead with Brett Rumford at the Perth International, with former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen a stroke behind on Friday.
Uihlein, who birdied his final two holes after starting on the back nine, and Rumford, who carded 65, had 36-hole totals of 11-under 133 at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion playing for the first time in Australia, had a 64 for the low round of the day after an opening 70.
Oosthuizen was on track to join Rumford and Uihlein at the top of the leaderboard, but missed a short birdie putt on the final hole.
“I just over-read it,” Oosthuizen said. “It was the first real putt I had in the shadows today. I took my glasses off, and I misread it a little bit. It’s not going to bother me though.”
European Ryder Cup player Victor Dubuisson of France posted a 1-under 71 but was still 4 over overall and missed the cut in the European Tour and Australasian PGA event.
Australian Marcus Fraser, who won the Maybank Championship in Malaysia last week, was at 2 under with veteran Peter Senior.
Other notables beside Dubuisson to miss the cut included defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen (5 over) and 2013 winner Jin Jeong (4 over).
Dubuisson has missed consecutive cuts since making a recent switch in equipment.
Uihlein was grouped with Dubuisson for the opening two days, but he said the Frenchman kept his emotions in check.
“You can never tell with Victor. He’s like the Mona Lisa, you never really know what’s going on,” Uihlein said, smiling. “He’s a great player. He could win Doral next week by 10, he’s that good.”
Temperatures exceeded 36 degrees Celsius (97 F), and Rumford made sure to keep his fluids up after stomach surgery last year which kept him off the tour for four months.
“This is the hottest conditions no doubt I’ve played in …” Rumford said. “But the body’s great. There’s no signs whatsoever. That’s all history now.”