The Hindu : Sport : Randhawa slips, Goosen takes lead

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Sunday, Nov 12, 2006
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Randhawa slips, Goosen takes lead

Shanghai: Jyoti Randhawa lost his lead but stayed in touch with the leaders after the third round even as all four Indians moved inside the top-20 to indicate the strength of the Indian challenge at the star-studded HSBC Champions golf tournament on Saturday.

Randhawa, who led in both the first and second rounds, had a great start with birdies on the first two holes, but then began faltering after dropping a double bogey on the fifth at the Sheshan Country Club.

His day's work of even par 72 saw him finish at 10-under 206 and two shy of the lead held by two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (67), who played consistent golf for his three-under 69 to move into sole lead at 12-under 204. Goosen had five birdies and two bogeys.

Tiger Woods playing in the lead group with Randhawa and Goosen also struggled during the day with one double bogey, four bogeys and three birdies and an eagle during his round of one-over 73 that pegged him at seven-under 209 and five off the leader.

Woods was now tied fifth with Paul Casey (68) who made a big move from overnight 23rd. Also tied fifth was Francesco Molinari (69) at seven-under 209.

Jeev moves up

As Randhawa lay third, Jeev Milkha Singh made a small upward move from tied 10th to tied eighth with his one-under 71 and six-under 210, that also included a double bogey.

Shiv Kapur ran into problems with his putting and shot a 74 that saw him slip to tied 17th at four-under 212, while Gaurav Ghei (71) moved from tied 29th to tied 19th at three-under 215.

Randhawa was one shot behind second-placed Korea's Yang Yong-eun, who played a stunning four-under 32 on the back nine in his five-under 67 to climb to 11-under 205 and tied second. Yang had six birdies and one bogey.

The Indian seemed to be trying a bit too hard and at times made mistakes. Still, he did well to hang in there with an even par round that ensured he would play in the leader group with Goosen and Yang.

``I missed a few putts out there and made some mistakes, too. There is one more round to go and I am only two behind, that's fine. I am not going to feel any pressure,'' he said.

Important scores (after round three): Retief Goosen (68-67-69) 204; Yang Yong-Eun (66-72-67) 205; Jyoti Randhawa (65-69-72) 206; Tiger Woods (72-64-73) 209; Paul Casey (73-68-68) 209; Francesco Malinari (72-68-69) 209; Jeev Milkha Singh (70-69-71) 210; Padraig Harrington (67-70-73) 210; K. J. Choi (68-72-71) 211; Shiv Kapur (71-67-74) 212; Gaurav Ghei (72-70-71) 213; Michael Campbell (66-70-77) 213; Jim Furyk (73-66-74) 213; Thaworn Wiratchant (75-67-71) 213. — PTI

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