Martin Kaymer set a tournament 54-hole record of 20 and pulled away from the field to take a six-shot lead in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Martin Kaymer pulled away from the field to take a six-shot lead in the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. He set a tournament 54-hole record of 20 under par in the process. If Kaymer wins it will be a wire-to-wire victory. Seven years ago, in his first Abu Dhabi triumph, the world number twelve led from start to finish, just as he did in last year’s Players Championship and US Open.
Kaymer, who shot 65, will be joined in the final group by Thomas Pieters and Bernd Wiesberger. Due to the threat of morning fog, the players are being sent out in threeballs for the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Rory McIlroy struggled on a day of low scoring could manage only one over par, and is now eight shots back in a tie for fifth. He failed only once to make a green in regulation, but could make only two birdies. “I just didn't putt well - yesterday or today,” the World Number One admitted after his round. “I hit the ball just as well as I did yesterday and gave myself so many chances but I didn't convert any. I was very wasteful today. It looks like I'm playing for second place tomorrow.”
For the third round running there was a hole in one on the 15th. Rookie Byeong-hun An was the man this time. He did not even realise he had done so. “I had a perfect shot, executed where I aimed but I didn't see it going in,” he explained afterwards. “I got up there, there was just one guy watching, just clapping so I thought, oh, must be close. I walked up there, didn’t see any balls and it was in the hole! I've come close a couple of times but this is the first one in my life.”
Kaymer and Byeong-hun An were among the five players to shoot 65 in the third round. Charl Schwartzel, Dawie van der Walt and Jamie Donaldson were the others. But the lowest round of the day was 64 by Victor Dubuisson who rose up 33 places on the Abu Dhabi leaderboard to joint 8th place.
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship leaderboard
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