Dubai resident Paul Waring leads after round three of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Abu Dhabi.
Paul Waring (Eng) expressed feeling 'a little disappointed' as his comfortable overnight lead was reduced to just a single shot heading into the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Abu Dhabi. The Dubai resident and Jumeirah Golf Estates member began the day with a five-shot advantage but a one-over 73 allowed the chasing pack to close in. Waring's 18 under-par total puts him one shot ahead of Niklas Nørgaard, with Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Thorbjørn Olesen, and Sebastian Söderberg tied for third at 15 under.
Waring's round started with a bunker shot on the opening tee, forcing him to scramble for par from eight feet at the first hole. He appeared to settle down with a birdie on the par-five second and a tee shot to eight feet at the short fourth. However, he missed a birdie putt and failed to capitalize on several other opportunities. A costly sand shot off the tee at the 14th resulted in a missed par attempt from 15 feet.
Reflecting on his performance, Waring told the media: 'You've got to have an average day, haven't you? A little bit disappointed. I felt like I could have really moved forward today and put myself out of sight.' He added, 'But four rounds of golf, you're always going to have an iffy run of holes, iffy round of golf. If at the beginning of the week you'd given me a one-shot lead going into tomorrow, I'd snatch your hand off.'
Waring acknowledged, 'I'm trying to remain positive that I'm still in the lead and looking forward to getting out there tomorrow. I wasn't at my best today. Putter felt a little bit jittery in total honesty. I thought the greens were a foot and a half quicker. They were just breaking a bit more than what I was reading the first few days, a bit dryer, a bit firmer, and I just struggled on them a little bit today.'
Nørgaard dropped his first shot of the week at the ninth in his round of 69 and feels more comfortable in high-level events as he pursues his second DP World Tour title and first on the Rolex Series.
Dubai resident Fleetwood had a mixed round with four birdies and three bogeys in his 71, aiming for his third Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship title after wins in 2017 and 2018. Major winner Lowry started strong with an eagle on the second and was six under at the turn before finishing with a 66. Meanwhile, Thomas Detry recorded the day's low round with six consecutive birdies to start and four more after the turn in his 62, just one shot shy of Waring's course record on Friday.
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
