Ismail tees up lead for Epson Cup final round
BOGOR, West Java (JP): Malaysian Rashid Ismail was the only player to score an under-par round on the penultimate day of the Rp 370 million (US$38,900) sixth JJGF Golf Championship titled the 2001 Epson Cup, taking the lead after a day that saw almost all players run into trouble at the treacherous Jagorawi Golf & Country Club's Old Course.
Despite finishing three strokes higher than his best round the day before, Ismail's one-under 71 was the best score on Saturday.
Overnight leader Maan Nasim and second-placed Anthony Sinclair of Australia dropped down the leader board with a four-over 76 and five-over 77 respectively. The results prompted a swap of the top positions, with Maan relegated to second.
Maan, the 1999 champion, has grossed a one-under 215 after three rounds, compared to Ismail's three-under 213. The two are the only players still under par going into the final round on Sunday.
Even Sinclair, the closest player to the pair, is in a distant third at three over par.
Saturday's round appeared to be very disappointing for Maan, who left the course after a short break in the locker room, avoiding the likelihood of running into reporters he had made himself available to after previous rounds.
The three players teed off in the same group at 8:36am on Saturday, with Ismail playing the most consistently throughout the game.
"I enjoyed the game. Playing golf, you must not be overly ambitious," he said after the day's play.
Ismail, who has played in every JJGF tour since 1998, started the day with a par, while Maan slipped with a bogey and Sinclair fared worst with a double-bogey.
After the first four holes, Ismail had reeled in Maan at three-under in the overall standings, after the latter bogeyed the fourth hole. By that time, Sinclair was over par.
Ismail and Maan were level entering the back nine, while a triple-bogey on the 340-meter par-four seventh hole sent Sinclair staggering to three-over.
Maan looked to go from bad to worse. His woeful day was compounded with a double-bogey on the 14th hole that saw his tally shrink to just one-under by the end of the day.
Ismail also suffered a decline in the latter stages of the round, particularly the last five holes, but somehow managed to escape a crash.
"In the last five holes I did not play that well. I guess I was a bit tired," he said.
The third member of the group was absolutely out of sorts. Although completing the back nine in even par, Sinclair was dissatisfied with his third round, during which he endured a flurry of narrow misses.
During the day's play, Sinclair's frustration was obvious with the Australian swearing at himself, shaking his head in disbelief and sometimes taking his anxiety out on his golf clubs.
"I played very bad. I'm disappointed," Sinclair told The Jakarta Post by phone. He put his dismal run partly down to the position of the holes.
"Pin placements made it difficult for birdies. It needs a bit more patience. One of the guys I played with also thought so," he said, adding that he was ready to make amends in the final round.
Meanwhile in the amateur field, Djunaedi wrested the lead from Irwansyah after carding an even-par 72, to finish seven-over on 223.
Irwansyah dropped to second with a 12-over total of 228 following his 9-over 81 in the third round. (01)