Korean golfer KJ Choi remained on course for his first victory on The European Tour when a third round 64 gave him a one shot lead going into the final 18 holes of the Linde German Masters at Gut Lärchenhof.
The 33 year old, who won twice last season on the US PGA Tour, finished with a three round total of 21 under par total of 195, one shot clear of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez, who carded a 67 for 196, and two clear of another Spaniard Carlos Rodiles and overnight leader Ian Poulter, who posted 67 and 69 respectively for 19 under par 197.
When Choi won his first event on the US PGA Tour, it came at English Turn, a Jack Nicklaus-designed course in New Orleans and with this week’s Cologne course also designed by the Golden Bear, the omens for Choi look good and the Korean admitted he was enjoying his first visit to Germany.
“Especially coming into the final holes here, it is similar to English Turn so I feel pretty comfortable there,” he said. “Generally the course fits me very well. The wind can be a factor, but if I hit my shots well, then the style of the course suits me.”
Certainly Choi, a wild card pick by Gary Player for the International Team for the upcoming Presidents Cup, hit many excellent shots in the third round, the pick of the bunch coming at the long 13th where he holed his third shot from the greenside bunker for an eagle three.
Birdies then followed at the 15th, 16th and 17th before he let the chasing back into affairs at the 18th when a poor drive flirted with the water to the left of the fairway, a stroke which led to a closing bogey five. Despite that, he remained upbeat and admitted he knew he would have big support at home as he bid for the title tomorrow.
“Even as we speak now I know the people back home in Korea are watching. Golf has become so popular now that whenever I play, I know the TV stations are quick to take the satellite feeds and put the pictures out. I don’t know exactly how big the viewing figures are, but I know it is big.”
Closest challenger to Choi is Jiménez, who looked like he would take the lead into the final day before dropping shots at the 16th and 17th holes. The Spaniard recovered well however with a birdie three at the 18th to re-ignite his challenge.
“I am happy with my 67 but not too happy to have dropped shots at the 16th and 17th because in both cases I felt I was unlucky after hitting pretty good tee shots. But that is the way it goes sometimes and luckily I finished with a birdie.”
“Going into the final round, I will try and play well again and try and do the things that I did well today. I much prefer to play in these conditions and temperatures which are like Malaga, but there are still a lot of players in contention who can win this tournament.”
Two of those shared third place on 19 under par 197, Carlos Rodiles and Ian Poulter, while the chasing pack was strengthened with a glance further down to where two time winner on Tour already this season, Paul Casey, took fifth on 199, while Ryder Cup star Niclas Fasth and Australia’s Jarrod Moseley shared sixth on 200.
