England’s David Howell equalled the low 54 hole record score on The European Tour after a third round 66 took the European Number One to 23 under par 193 and one clear of Australian Andrew Buckle going into the final round of the TCL Classic.
Howell, the World Number 14, was unable to produce the same fireworks as the first two days when he shot 64-63 but his patience paid off as he staged a grandstand finish at Yalong Bay Golf Club on the Chinese island resort of Hainan to edge one ahead of Buckle and two clear of Swede Johan Edfors.
After only two birdies in the first 12 holes Howell had been overtaken by Buckle but he hit back with a 40 foot eagle putt on the 13th and then birdied the 16th and 17th holes to take a slender one stroke lead into the final round.
His 23 under par total of 193 equals the record for the first 54 holes on both The European and Asian Tours, set by Ernie Els in the 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic at Lake Karrinyup in Australia.
“It was a little hard work to be honest,” admitted Howell. “Andrew played fantastically well and put the pressure on me. He wasn’t going to let up. He played beautifully round the front nine. I just didn’t get going. All in all is was a bit of a struggle. But I said to myself the first two days had been so easy really just stay patient and try and shoot 67 and I managed to beat that by one in the end so delighted with a 66.”
Howell now has his sights on another record as he targets 30 under par, a score he feels he will need to have a chance of winning the event jointly sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian Tour. No player has ever gone lower than 29 under par in European Tour history.
“My caddie and I thought about what we would need yesterday and thought 30 under would be near the number. That was my goal starting this morning, not only to have a chance to win the tournament but that is a pretty meteoric number to get for four rounds of golf. You are not going to many opportunities in life to do that so I think 65 tomorrow would give me a chance of winning the tournament with a stylish number.”
Howell’s closest challenger is Buckle, who went one better than Howell with a 65 to close the gap to one. Two weeks ago he came within a whisker of winning the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open but was denied by England’s Simon Dyson.
This week he faces arguably his biggest challenge yet against the World Number 14 who beat Tiger Woods on his only previous visit to China.
“I played very well and ended up with 65 so I am happy,” said Buckle. “I was just trying to concentrate on my own game and add the scores up at the end of the day. It gives you confidence if you are playing well.
“The more you play with the better players, especially with them in the same group you feed off them a bit. You get a gist of where you are and it is good for us when they come over to play these tournaments as we learn a lot from them and it is good testing yourself against these sort of players.”
Edfors, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Tennis ace Roger Federer, is a further shot back after a blistering 63 too him to 21 under par. The former Challenge Tour Number One will be hoping to again get the better of Howell, just as he did 13 years ago in a boys tournament in Swizterland.
“I beat him then so I am one up,” quipped Edfors after his nine birdie round. “I am looking forward to playing tomorrow. I have been playing well all week but today I started making a few putts. I actually left a couple out there and another good round tomorrow and I might be on top.
“The way Howell is playing I was thinking 30 under was going to win. A 63 is halfway there and I need another one tomorrow.”
England’s Nick Dougherty, who needs to win to give himself and outside chance of moving into the World’s top 50 and a place in the Masters Tournament, made up ground with an eight under par 64, all eight birdies coming in the last 12 holes.
