Published July 17, 2008 on October 27, 2018

Three Shot Lead for Finau in the WGC-HSBC Champions.

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Tony Finau birdied his last three holes in the third round to take a three-shot lead into the final day of the WGC-HSBC Champions.

The American started Saturday with that advantage before defending champion Justin Rose reeled him in and moved two ahead with two to play on a dramatic day at Sheshan International Golf Club.

Finau said, “It was great to birdie the last three. It’s always a nice way to finish no matter what position you’re in. I didn’t have a lot going my way, kind of for the first half of the day, and Rosey was making his run. I was just really pleased I was able to finish that way and get some momentum going into tomorrow.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. 18 holes, I’ve got a world-class field chasing after me. This is the position you want to be in and you know, I’ll be looking to close out my first tournament in this position, which is exciting for me. Whether it happens or not, it’s an experience that you learn from and you continue to move forward.”

But while Finau completed his big finish to get to 13-under, Englishman Rose dropped three shots on the final two holes to sit three off the lead alongside American duo Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele.

Reigning Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood was then five shots off the lead alongside America’s Andrew Putnam.

Finau’s round of 70 put him in pole position to claim his first European Tour win at just the 20th attempt but the chasing pack have plenty to play for in Shanghai. A win for Rose could move him back to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, while a Reed victory could put him top of the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.

Fleetwood could also move to the top of the Race to Dubai standings, while Schauffele and Putnam are both still seeking their first European Tour wins.

Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat and American Keegan Bradley both fired rounds of 70 to sit at seven under, with Australian Jason Day at six under, a shot clear of Thorbjørn Olesen, Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel.

Kiradech who sits at world number 41 birdied two of his opening three holes before dropping a shot on six. He recovered quickly with another birdie on the next hole but suffered another bogey on the eighth hole. The Thai then marked his card with another pair of birdies on 13 and 14 before another bogey on 15 dropped him back to two-under for the round.

Kiradech said, “I got off to a good start, hit solid shots and rolled the putts well but towards the end of the day, I didn’t strike the ball as well as I could have. It’s the same every day, my iron game isn’t sharp enough to make it. I think so far I hit like seven greens in regulation, which is like so low. Accuracy is quite key around this course because when the wind picks up and it’s very windy around here, the golf course gets more difficult. I still have to work hard on my game to get everything back. I have to get off to a very hot start and just keep it going. I really need a low number to have a chance but finishing top-five is the goal for me this week.

 

Third Round Scores

203 T Finau (USA) 66 67 70,
206 J Rose (Eng) 69 67 70, P Reed (USA) 64 72 70, X Schauffele (USA) 66 71 69,
208 A Putnam (USA) 70 71 67, T Fleetwood (Eng) 68 68 72,
209 K Bradley (USA) 69 70 70, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 68 71 70,
210 J Day (Aus) 71 70 69,
211 P Cantlay (USA) 70 68 73, B Horschel (USA) 68 72 71, T Olesen (Den) 75 69 67,
212 A Pavan (Ita) 72 71 69,
213 T Pieters (Bel) 75 64 74, E Grillo (Arg) 70 69 74,
214 I Poulter (Eng) 69 71 74, A Noren (Swe) 74 69 71, C Pan (Tpe) 68 76 70, A Scott (Aus) 69 73 72, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 68 73 73, H Li (Chn) 73 72 69,
215 A Björk (Swe) 70 75 70, R Fox (Nzl) 70 70 75, P Casey (Eng) 73 68 74, S Kodaira (Jpn) 72 73 70,
216 T Hatton (Eng) 72 70 74, A Hadwin (Can) 74 68 74,
217 A Levy (Fra) 71 70 76, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 67 80 70, K Stanley (USA) 70 69 78, B Koepka (USA) 72 74 71,
218 M Wallace (Eng) 69 75 74, J Rahm (Esp) 73 76 69, C Reavie (USA) 70 73 75,
219 P Perez (USA) 70 69 80, E Van Rooyen (RSA) 76 72 71, J Harding (RSA) 76 71 72, Y Yuan (Chn) 78 71 70, H Matsuyama (Jpn) 72 70 77, S Vincent (Zim) 73 73 73, B Grace (RSA) 72 71 76, G Coetzee (RSA) 69 74 76, B Snedeker (USA) 75 76 68,
220 Y Ikeda (Jpn) 75 74 71, B An (Kor) 75 71 74, C Smith (Aus) 76 72 72, J Norris (Aus) 74 73 73, S Park (Kor) 77 71 72, D Johnson (USA) 74 73 73,
221 A Bland (Aus) 72 76 73, W Liang (Chn) 72 73 76, O Bekker (RSA) 77 71 73, S Kim (USA) 72 74 75, P Kizzire (USA) 74 71 76,
222 A Sullivan (Eng) 72 71 79, A Otaegui (Esp) 72 75 75, J Catlin (USA) 75 71 76, X Zhang (Chn) 72 76 74,
223 C Hoffman (USA) 74 75 74,
224 R McIlroy (Nir) 72 77 75, J Scrivener (Aus) 75 74 75,
225 G Bhullar (Ind) 72 72 81, J Suri (USA) 74 75 76, A Wu (Chn) 73 80 72, B Stone (RSA) 74 80 71, J Campillo (Esp) 73 77 75,
226 F Molinari (Ita) 76 75 75, K Na (USA) 75 74 77,
227 R Knox (Sco) 74 77 76, B Harman (USA) 73 73 81,
228 J Ritchie (RSA) 71 76 81,
229 Y Inamori (Jpn) 74 82 73,
230 L Bjerregaard (Den) 77 74 79,
231 Y Liu (Chn) 75 79 77, B Rumford (Aus) 73 80 78,
232 S Sharma (Ind) 80 80 72,
235 B Xiao (Chn) 76 79 80,
** C Wood (Eng) WD 0 0,