England's Paul Casey fired a magnificent 63, which translates to 21 points in the modified stableford format, to take a six point lead into the final round of the ANZ Championship at New South Wales Golf Club, Sydney.
The 25 year old from Weybridge, now based in Scottsdale, Arizona, accumulated a total of 39 points to sweep ahead of the clutch of Australians who had dominated the leaderboard over the first two days. Stuart Appleby lies second on 33 points with Sweden’s Robert Karlsson third on 31.
Casey was in majestic form, leaving a bemused Appleby to comment: "Paul was just lapping me, running around me, dancing around me. He made it look easy today, but it was hard work even though he looked so good at times.
"He's a good player. He hits it long, strong, good touch, good chipping, good putting. The guy's going to play well for a long time."
Casey made life difficult for himself but dropping a stroke at the first, which meant one point deducted before he had begun to work on the “plus” column. However he reached the turn in 30 with six birdies and an eagle and despite another dropped stroke on the back nine, gathered in four more birdies in a wonderful round of 63 at the picturesque coastal venue near Botany Bay.
He said: "I think the format encourages you to forget what score you are on, and you are out there to make birdies and try and make eagles. I've always thrown a lot of birdies and eagles in my rounds but unfortunately a lot of bogeys too. I think this format suits me. It rewards the aggressive."
Leading at the halfway stage in last week’s Heineken Classic, he stumbled over the weekend but hung on to finish tied for fourth. He observed: "Last week was a good learning experience. I was disappointed with the way I played over the weekend. I didn't throw it away; I hung in there and I am glad I am back in that position again.”
Another Englishman, England’s Nick Dougherty shares fourth with Australian Nick O’Hern after completing a remarkable turn-around, having only just made the cut in a dramatic finish on Friday then earning 17 points from a faultless round of 64.
After 23 holes, Dougherty was on minus four points - and with only five holes left in his second round was in real danger of missing the cut. But he finished with two birdies and two eagles, including a chip in on the last, to make the cut by just two points.
Dougherty seized his second opportunity and went for his shots to card six birdies and an eagle on the par five 12th. He said: "I played awesome golf. I went out there, hit the shots, knocked the putts in and bingo. I was given the chance with what happened yesterday and was able to take the confidence from that great finish.”
