PeakVibe

Cameron Smith saw parts of Hong Kong Golf Club on Saturday normally reserved for high handicappers and those seeking some relief, and he still finished the day top of the leaderboard.

The Australian carded a five-under-par 65 to move to 16 under overall at the Hong Kong Open, and will go into the final round tied for the lead with Phachara Khongwatmai, who shot a 66.

Ben Campbell sits a stroke back after his five under, and with just four shots separating the top eight, Sunday promises to be a fight to the finish in the penultimate International Series event of the year.

“I found parts of the course that I don’t want to see ever again,” Smith said. “It was a bit of a grind today to be honest, I was happy with the way I hung in there.”

Despite his travails, Smith only had one bogey in his round, when he went way left from the tee on 16 and had to hack his way out of trouble. He repaired the damage at 17, one of the six birdies he managed.

“I just didn’t really feel comfortable with the driver today, and you know, the rest of the longer stuff, but the mid to short irons and wedges felt great,” he said.

“I actually had a pretty decent warm-up too, I was feeling really comfortable. I hit a great drive off the first and I thought to myself, here we go.

“And then yeah, just wasn’t to be. It was one of those days where it could have gone one of which ways and I was fortunate enough to kind of grind it out and dig in and get away with a chance tomorrow.”

Shooting a 65 when not playing well highlighted the potential for low scores on a course with greens made receptive by overnight rain, and with more forecast, Smith does not believe a two or three under in the final round will get it done.

Even Graeme McDowell in eighth on 12 under fancied his chances, and the Northern Irishman said a little more aggression on some holes would be key to the 62 he was targeting.

Australians have a habit of winning this tournament, and Smith has already set his sights on putting his name alongside the likes of Peter Thomson and defending champion Wade Orsmby.

But for a while on Saturday it was New Zealand’s Campbell leading the way, and the only blip on his scorecard was the bogey he started the day with.

“I think obviously you got to get into the 20s, if you’re in the 20s you’re gonna have a chance,” Campbell said. “It was tricky out there picking the wind a bit today, so it depends if it’s sort of gusty like that again tomorrow.”

It was a mixed day for Hong Kong’s contingent, with Matthew Cheung’s three-under 67, which moved him into a tie for 49th, the pick of the bunch.

Taichi Kho double-bogeyed 18 for the second day running to slip back to one under overall, while Shen Wang-ngai struggled badly and a quintuple bogey at 10 contributed to a 76, that saw him drop back to one over.

Brian Donovan, the golf club’s teaching professional, had a roller coaster of a day, and his five birdies and five bogeys left him exactly where he started it, at two under.

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