Garcia dominating Thailand Open

Spain's Sergio Garcia opened up a four-stroke lead after firing a superb seven-under 65 in the third round of the $1 million Thailand Golf Championship at Amata Spring Country Club on Saturday.

The Spanish star surged to 18-under for the tournament with eight birdies and just one bogey.

Matching Garcia's 65 was Sweden's pre-tournament favourite Henrik Stenson, who moved into joint second place along with India's Anirbarn Lahiri.

Joint overnight leader Justin Rose slipped back to fourth spot after a disappointing 70, leaving the Englishman five shots behind the leader.

Two shots further back, alone in fifth place, was France's Alexander Levy while the best score of the day came from Korea's Kim Gi-Whan whose eight-under 64 catapulted him into joint sixth spot.

A third round 71 left Andrew Dodt the best placed Australian, ten shots off the pace.

"It was great to shoot 65 for the second successive day," said a relaxed Garcia. "I felt very comfortable and hit some nice shots. I was particularly pleased with my putting, especially sinking birdies on the difficult last two holes."

Despite his healthy lead he knows there is still plenty of work to do and won't be playing cautiously in Sunday's final round.

"There are five or six guys out there who can shoot a good number," he said. "I'll be as aggressive as possible. I won't be playing defensively."

Stenson looked particularly pleased after his bogey-free seven-under round. "That's the best I've played all week," he said.

"In addition to the birdies, I made some good saves which kept the momentum going, which was important."

However, he knows overhauling Garcia will not be easy. "It's going to take some special golf to catch Sergio," he said.

Lahiri was pleased to be in contention after shooting an excellent 67. "I'm very happy as I did not hit the ball that well," said the promising 26-year-old.

"I'm glad I'm within touching distance of Sergio, but I won't expect too much. I'll just do my best."

Rose admitted he had experienced a "frustrating day" missing a number of birdie putts. "I played quite well and had the opportunity to put a good round together, but didn't do it," he said.

The US Open winner said he would do his best to catch Ryder Cup teammate Garcia in the last round.

"It's my last round of the season. I'll shoot at the flags and hope the putts go in."

Leading the local challenge is Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat in joint sixth place after shooting 67.

But it was compatriot Chinnarat Phadungsil who prompted the biggest cheers from the gallery with a hole-in-one at the fifth, the second ace of the tournament.

The ace climaxed a blistering start for the young Thai who found himself five-under after the first five holes on his way to an impressive 65 for joint ninth place.

Red-hot Garcia takes four-shot Bangkok lead

Sergio Garcia will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Thailand Golf Championship after Saturday's excellent 65.

The Spaniard had already carded rounds of 68 and 65 to share the halfway lead with Justin Rose and he secured eight birdies and just one bogey to surge ahead to 18-under par with just 18 holes to go in Bangkok. Rose has now slipped back to fourth spot on the leaderboard after signing for a modest 70 and it is in-form Swede Henrik Stenson who will be Garcia's closest challenger on Sunday as his 65 moved the Race to Dubai winner up to -14. India's Anirban Lahiri is also on 14-under par with Rose one stroke back, but the rest of the field appear to now be playing for the minor places. Alexander Levy of France shot another solid round of 70 and he is next in the standings on -11, with Korea's Kim Gi-whan, Yuki Kono of Japan and Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat sharing sixth place on -10. But it is Ryder Cup star Garcia who now holds all the aces and the 33-year-old was delighted with his effort over the closing holes. "It was great obviously to be able to go out there and shoot 65 again," he said. "I played nicely and felt pretty comfortable. "I was able to hit some really nice shots and then was able to roll two or three really good putts in and it was nice to be able to finish birdie, birdie on this difficult finishing stretch."

Garcia pads lead at Amata

CHON BURI - Sergio Garcia fired a 7-under-par 65 to open a four-shot lead after the third round of the Thailand Golf Championship at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chon Buri.

The Spaniard had eight birdies to bring his three-round total to an 18-under 198.

He's being chased by Henrik Stenson, the first man to win the European Tour's Race to Dubai and the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup this season, who also fired a 65 to give himself a chance of a fourth win of the year. The Swede is tied in second with India's Anirban Lahiri, who fought his way into the final group on Sunday with a 67.

Second-round co-leader Justin Rose of England bogeyed his last hole for a 70 as he slipped five shots off the pace while Panuphol Pittayarat emerged as the leading Thai player following a 67 for a share of sixth place on 206.

After charging into contention with a second-round 65 that included a hole-in-one on Friday, the 33-year-old Garcia, ranked 19th in the world, put himself in prime position to land his first title of 2013.

"It was great to shoot 65 for the second successive day," said a relaxed Garcia, whose girlfriend is caddying for him.

"I felt very comfortable and hit some nice shots. I was particularly pleased with my putting, especially sinking birdies on the difficult last two holes."

Despite his healthy lead he knows there is still plenty of work to do and won't be playing cautiously in Sunday's final round.

"There are five or six guys out there who can shoot a good number," he said. "I'll be as aggressive as possible. I won't be playing defensively."

Lahiri, who is fifth on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, sank six birdies against a lone bogey to stay within touching distance of the leader.

"I didn’t hit the ball very good but I played really sharp golf and that’s good to see," said the 26-year-old, who has three wins in Asia.

"I'm happy that I'm able to focus and get up and down when I miss it, and make some putts."

A total of eight players from the world's top-50 are in the field at the Thailand Golf Championship which is offering 38 world ranking points to the winner.

Golf-Campillo, Nel shoot record 59s but fail to enter history books

(Reuters) - Spain's Jorge Campillo and South African Colin Nel became the first players to card 59s on the European Tour in a birdie fest at the Nelson Mandela Championship on Friday but their efforts will not go into the record books.

Campillo, yet to win a tour event, fired seven birdies and two eagles in a faultless round made easier by the fact the players were able to place the ball on the par-70 Mount Edgecombe course in Durban due to the soft fairways.

As a result, the round will not be entered into the record books.

The 27-year-old shares the second-round clubhouse lead at 11 under par with England's Matthew Baldwin after Campillo had carded a level-par 70 in the first.

Nel, who shot a 77 in his opening round, managed nine birdies and an eagle to improve by 18 shots.

Organisers hope to finish the second round on Friday having reduced the tournament to 54 holes in the morning.

The tournament will end on Saturday as the start was brought forward by 24 hours to avoid a clash with the funeral of Nelson Mandela on Sunday.

Larry Bush: No one but Tiger

Tiger Woods was the toast of our town the first time he played in the Honda Classic at PGA National, in March 2012, shortly after moving to Jupiter Island from the Orlando area.

No one would have, or should have, expected anything less.

He didn’t play quite as well last year, but Woods was still the biggest attraction and he will likely be so again this year even though we can only assume he’ll be teeing it up on the Champion course in March.

No one but Tiger may know for sure until a month or so beforehand.

To the delight of record crowds in 2012, Woods shot a hard-charging 62 on Sunday to tie Tom Gillis for second at 270, two strokes behind Rory McIlroy’s 268.

Last year, Woods was 12 strokes higher the last day, a 74 after three straight 70s, and tied for 37th on 284. That was 13 shots behind the winner, the unheralded Michael Thompson’s 271.

Nevertheless, as he continues to cut his ties to his native California, no one should doubt that Tiger has become a Floridian for life.

His elite gathering last weekend at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks marked the last time it would be played in California. Next year, Woods is moving the event to Isleworth, his old home course in Orlando. Then, it could be headed to the Bahamas (Note to Mr. Woods: There are many high-quality golf courses in this area worthy of consideration.).

Woods, a native of Cypress, Calif., made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades in the 1992 Nissan Open when he was a 16-year-old high school junior.

AS THE STORY GOES

As the story goes, he might have made the cut if not for a growth spurt during the week that made the shaft in his driver too short. He never won what he often referred to as his “hometown event” at Riviera.

He made up for it by winning five times and counting at Sherwood; and last weekend he closed a chapter on golf in the area he had always called home. But he stopped playing at Riviera in 2006 after he narrowly made the cut. The only regular tour event in California that Woods still plays is at Torrey Pines near San Diego, a two-hour drive from Cypress.

When Tiger won the Canadian Open in 2000 with that 6-iron out of a bunker and over the water, his father, Earl, said that day, “In every tournament, he’ll hit shots that people will be talking about for the next 30 years.” And now we here in South Florida will be able to see them more than ever before, maybe even more so than golf fans in Southern California.

Campillo Shoots 59 But ‘Preferred Lie’ Rules Out European Tour First.

Spain’s Jorge Campillo shot an 11 under par 59 to grab a share of the clubhouse lead during the second round of The Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa.

The Spaniard, whose round will not enter the record books due to a preferred lie rule in effect allowed on the rain-softened Mount Edgecombe fairways, shot seven birdies and two eagles to join England’s Matthew Baldwin on 11 under par.Another three hours of play was lost to rain on Friday morning, which added to the lengthy delays on Wednesday and Thursday forced organisers to reduce the event to 54 holes.

Several players had to finish their first rounds when play did resume at 09:00, but nobody was able to surpass Daniel Brooks eight under par 62 from the opening day.

However, first South African Oliver Bekker and then Campillo soon raced past the Englishman when they went out for their second rounds for a quick turnaround.

Bekker birdied the tenth – his first – then leapt into the lead with an eagle at the long 12th.

Another birdie followed at the 13th, and a fine approach to five feet at the 14th saw him go five under through five holes and 11 under for the week.

However, the 29 year old faded slightly with three bogeys and two birdies from that point leaving him with a 66 and share of third place alongside compatriot Branden Grace.

Campillo pitched in for a second eagle of the day at the fourth – like Bekker he made a three at the long 12th – and added seven birdies as he chases a first European Tour title.

Baldwin has never finished higher than fifth, but made six birdies and an eagle on the 12th in his second round 62.

Qualifying School graduate Brooks had not begun his second round when the leaders reached the clubhouse, and was likely to have to return early on Saturday morning to complete his second round.

Rose In Second After Round One In Thailand

Britain’s Justin Rose ended the first round of the Thailand Golf Championship in second place, after carding 65 behind Germany's Alex Cejka.

The US Open winner ended seven-under tied for the second place with Thailand's Arnond Vongvanij, one behind Cejka, with defending champion Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia on 68

Sweden's world number three Henrik Stenson, and Americans Bubba Watson and American Rickie Fowler both opened with 70s.

Fresh from his victory at the US Open, the first Englishman to win in 43 years, he is hoping for a perfect end to a season which saw him win his first major title.

"Wining a major, it's still sinking in," he told Sky Sports.

"It's an amazing feeling and a lot of relief. A lot of great players haven't won a major and to get that monkey off my back is fantastic.

"It takes off a lot of pressure. As a kid growing up, I always dreamed of winning a major and it's nice to have that. At this point of my career, it's not time to reminisce; I am motivated to win more."

If a win in the Thailand tournament would be the icing on the cake, perhaps his nomination alongside Andy Murray, the first player for 77 years to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title, for the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, is a sprinkling of glitter.