By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : Shiv Kapur and Jyoti Randhawa both shot six-under 66 each as they made smart moves upwards in the third round of the Maybank Malaysian Open golf tournament Saturday.
Kapur was in excellent form and struck a purple patch with five birdies in a row in the middle of the round from the seventh to the 11th. He began the day with a bogey and had seven birdies as he moved from tied 18th after second round to tied seventh at 11-under 201 with one round to go.
Randhawa shot a flawless round with two birdies on the front nine and four on the journey home for his 66 that took him to 10-under 202 and in tied ninth place. The third Indian who made the cut, S.S.P. Chowrasia went three-over to 75 and was two-over for three days at 218 and was tied 68th.
Kapur was three behind the leader Australian Adam Blyth who snatched a one-shot lead after the third round Saturday.
Blyth, who finished tied 14th in his professional debut at Malaysia’s flagship event in 2005, produced a superb six-under-par 66 to go to 14-under-par 202. He is one shot clear of Chinese star Liang Wen-chong, who carded a 67 and Sweden’s Alexander Noren who returned a 69.
Kapur was delighted with his round. “I started off with a bogey on the first hole and I thought it was a good omen for me. In the French Open when I shot the course record, I shot a bogey on the first hole as well. I am pretty happy overall,” he said.
“I hope to trust my putting and my goal is to hit 18 greens in regulation so let’s see what happens. I played at Saujana in 1999 and a few times as an amateur where I have attained success so I’m looking forward to a good end.”
The final round promises to be a thriller with a jam-packed leaderboard at Saujana Golf and Country Club. Thai star Prayad Marksaeng (65), American Anthony Kang (64) and England’s Miles Tunnicliff (63) are two shots off the pace while overnight leader Danny Chia of Malaysia was a further stroke behind after a 74 to lie alongside Kapur.
Blyth produced a magnificent display with a first career victory at the $2 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
“It would mean a lot. My first pro event was here and I finished well so it was a good start to my career. It would mean the world if I can win any tournament, but here will be great. But it’s a long way away and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” said the 27-year-old Asian Tour regular.
Liang, Asia’s number one in 2007, has the pedigree to deny Blyth. The Chinese enjoyed a terrific finish with two closing birdies to sneak behind the new tournament leader on a sun-baked day.