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159061
Sun, 02/06/2011 - 10:31
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Great Bhirb Edges Ahead in Commercial Bank Masters
Doha February 05 (QNA) Denmark s Thomas Bjorn takes a one-shot lead into the final day of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy at Doha Golf Club today (Sunday) after a brilliant third round 66 saw him move to eleven under par.
Overnight leader Markus Brier - who had been tied with the Dane on -11 - dropped a shot with a bogey on the par five 18th to card a three under 69 and go ten under for the tournament. Defending champion Robert Karlsson of Sweden sits a further two shots adrift on eight under par after a superb inward nine of 31 included five birdies in six holes.
The winner of ten European Tour titles, Bjorn may well find his form over days two and three to be crucial as the weather forecast for the final round predicts more of the same high speed gales that battered the tournament s opening round on Thursday.
"I played fantastic yesterday to shoot that 65 and felt comfortable this morning and good with the way my golf is," said Bjorn, whose only win in the Middle East was in Dubai in 2001.
"I'm feeling quite comfortable, considering it's been a while since I've been in this kind of situation.
"But by the looks of things, we have a very tough day tomorrow. If it's going to blow like it did on Thursday, then I think any player in this field will take a 72. This golf course becomes very brutal when it blows. The greens are firm, there's a lot of rough and the fairways are firm now, so it's getting more and more difficult to hit them."
Despite two bogeys, Brier was happy with his day s work and will play the final day alongside the more illustrious duo of Bjorn and Karlsson after tournament officials switched to a three-ball format for the final day.
"There were a lot of good things today, except the par fives where I had two bogeys and two pars - which is not normally what you want to have - but the rest was really good," smiled the Austrian, who is only in the tournament thanks to sponsor s invite. "I hit a few really good shots and really good putts. I m still up there. Not in the lead but the rest was pretty good so I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
With five shots covering the top six players, fourth placed South African Thomas Aiken (-7) and England s Richard Finch (-6) and 2009 Commercialbank Qatar Masters champion Alvaro Quiros of Spain (-6) who are tied in fifth are all still very much in the hunt for the Mother of Pearl Trophy and 50 World Ranking points.
"To shoot 66 on a golf course like this, even when we have the easiest day, is a great thing," smiled the big-hitting Quiros, who matched Bjorn, Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Gregory Havret with the best round of the day. "Obviously I still feel I can reduce this score a little bit more, but I have to be happy. It puts me in the Top-10 and I have a little chance, depending on what the leaders make."
Organised by the Qatar Golf Association (QGA), Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsors Commercialbank, the 14th Commercialbank Qatar Masters will resume with the final round getting underway at 6.45am today (Sunday).
Overnight leader Markus Brier - who had been tied with the Dane on -11 - dropped a shot with a bogey on the par five 18th to card a three under 69 and go ten under for the tournament. Defending champion Robert Karlsson of Sweden sits a further two shots adrift on eight under par after a superb inward nine of 31 included five birdies in six holes.
The winner of ten European Tour titles, Bjorn may well find his form over days two and three to be crucial as the weather forecast for the final round predicts more of the same high speed gales that battered the tournament s opening round on Thursday.
"I played fantastic yesterday to shoot that 65 and felt comfortable this morning and good with the way my golf is," said Bjorn, whose only win in the Middle East was in Dubai in 2001.
"I'm feeling quite comfortable, considering it's been a while since I've been in this kind of situation.
"But by the looks of things, we have a very tough day tomorrow. If it's going to blow like it did on Thursday, then I think any player in this field will take a 72. This golf course becomes very brutal when it blows. The greens are firm, there's a lot of rough and the fairways are firm now, so it's getting more and more difficult to hit them."
Despite two bogeys, Brier was happy with his day s work and will play the final day alongside the more illustrious duo of Bjorn and Karlsson after tournament officials switched to a three-ball format for the final day.
"There were a lot of good things today, except the par fives where I had two bogeys and two pars - which is not normally what you want to have - but the rest was really good," smiled the Austrian, who is only in the tournament thanks to sponsor s invite. "I hit a few really good shots and really good putts. I m still up there. Not in the lead but the rest was pretty good so I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
With five shots covering the top six players, fourth placed South African Thomas Aiken (-7) and England s Richard Finch (-6) and 2009 Commercialbank Qatar Masters champion Alvaro Quiros of Spain (-6) who are tied in fifth are all still very much in the hunt for the Mother of Pearl Trophy and 50 World Ranking points.
"To shoot 66 on a golf course like this, even when we have the easiest day, is a great thing," smiled the big-hitting Quiros, who matched Bjorn, Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Gregory Havret with the best round of the day. "Obviously I still feel I can reduce this score a little bit more, but I have to be happy. It puts me in the Top-10 and I have a little chance, depending on what the leaders make."
Organised by the Qatar Golf Association (QGA), Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsors Commercialbank, the 14th Commercialbank Qatar Masters will resume with the final round getting underway at 6.45am today (Sunday).
