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Els makes his move in Alfred Dunhill Championship |
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Els makes his move in Alfred Dunhill Championship |
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::Saturday,12 December 2009 |
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MALELANE, South Africa – Spain’s Pablo Martin held onto his Alfred Dunhill Championship lead in a tense third round where Ernie Els fought his way right back into contention on Saturday.
Martin overcame a double bogey on the back nine and made an incredible par from the bridge on the 18th on his way to a 71 and the lead on 14 under par.
And behind him Els also fought with his game during a stretch of three bogeys and a double bogey over the turn, before five birdies in his final six holes earned him a 69 that has put him right back in the championship.
Charl Schwartzel, the winner here in 2004, produced his own charge to join Els on 12 under with a 68.
Overall, it was a frantic day that had even Els shaking his head in disbelief.
“Wow. It was all happening out there. I felt good on the range before the round and it felt like there was a good one out there. But I missed a lot of short putts, and felt uncomfortable on the greens. At one stage I was eight behind Pablo and out of the tournament, and now I’m only two behind. It was a big swing on the back nine, that’s for sure.”
Martin overcame the nerves of playing with Els for the first time and built on his overnight lead with two birdies in the first six holes on Saturday.
But a double-bogey six on the 14th, when he hit his second into the furrow in front of the green, opened the door for the likes of Els and Schwartzel to force their way back into this championship.
The Spaniard then hit a four wood for his second into the treacherous par-five 18th green and was lucky for it to finish on the bridge. He was able to chip from the path and went on to make a solid par.
“I thought it was in the water for sure, and then I heard the crowd clapping. It worked out well in the end,” he said.
Els fought with his game for 11 holes, including a particularly bloody stretch over the turn where he bogeyed holes seven, eight and nine and then double bogeyed the 11th.
Then he made an adjustment to his putting stance and it paid off with that strong finish, which keeps alive his chances of a win in his final tournament in 2009 to retain his record of winning at least once a year every year since 1991.
“If I can get a bit more consistent then I’ve got a chance. I don’t want to look at leaderboards on the final day. I just want to go out there and shoot a 65, and hopefully that’s good enough,” said Els.
Schwartzel made the 68 he had set himself as a target before the round. But he was far from satisfied with his putting.
“I knew I needed something around four under to stand a chance in the final round. But my putting let me down badly. The way I hit the ball I shouldn’t have made any bogeys, but I missed a bunch of short putts.
“But if I’m putting like this and still shooting 68, I can’t wait for the day that I start making those putts.”
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