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| September 21, 2003 | Sunday | Rajab 23, 1424 |
Choi shoots 64 to take lead
COLOGNE (Germany), Sept 20: Korean invitee K. J. Choi will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the German Masters as he seeks victory on his first visit to continental Europe.
An eight-under-par third-round 64 hauled him to 21-under-par 195 on Saturday, leaving the 33-year-old a stroke ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, who posted a 67.
Choi made up a three-stroke overnight deficit to Britain’s second-round leader Ian Poulter, running up seven birdies and an eagle to hold off former Ryder Cup man Jimenez, despite bogeying the last.
Poulter, seeking his third win of the year, stayed in command with three early birdies but then hit a poor patch to slip to a share of third place with Spain’s Carlos Rodiles.
Choi, whose only other visits to Europe have been at four British Opens, praised his veteran English caddy Andy Prodger, who helped Nick Faldo win two major titles and was released by Colin Montgomerie in May.
“The course is very similar to English Turn where I won my first tournament last year on the U.S. Tour, the Compaq Classic in New Orleans,” said Choi, whose round highlight came when he holed a bunker shot on the long 13th to get the eagle that earned him the lead.
“He has given me a comfort zone because he has pinpointed just where to land the ball and where not to land it.”
Prodger, 51, has been given a special dispensation to pull a trolley at the weekend because he is suffering balance problems and a painful bag-carrying left arm after falling off a ladder.
Jimenez stayed in touch with a birdie at the last after mixing an eagle, which came from a stunning approach to just three feet on the 13th, and five birdies with three bogeys.
Poulter and Jimenez had not dropped a shot during the week until they both bogeyed the sixth, but the Englishman needed to eagle the 13th on the way to a 69 to keep alive his hopes of a victory that could earn him a World Cup place.
Rodiles recovered from a double-bogey on the seventh with a run of five birdies on the way to a 67.
Briton Paul Casey, a near certainty to be one of England’s World Cup pair, lies fifth, four strokes behind Choi, after a 67.
Third round scores:
195 K.J. Choi (South Korea) 63 68 64
196 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 67 62 67
197 Ian Poulter 65 63 69, Carlos Rodiles (Spain) 65 65 67
199 Paul Casey 65 67 67
200 Niclas Fasth (Sweden) 68 67 65, Jarrod Moseley (Australia) 68 65 67
201 Darren Clarke 65 71 65, Retief Goosen (South Africa) 68 67 66, Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 60 71 70, Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) 68 67 66, Gary Orr 65 66 70, Miles Tunnicliff 67 63 71
202 Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 69 67 66, Adam Scott (Australia) 66 69 67
203 Anders Hansen (Denmark) 69 62 72
204 Joakim Haeggman (Sweden) 72 68 64, David Howell 66 69 69
205 Bradley Dredge 67 69 69, Ian Garbutt 69 70 66, Mathias Gronberg (Sweden) 68 69 68, Maarten Lafeber (Netherlands) 67 69 69, David Park 67 70 68, Justin Rose 69 66 70, Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 72 66 67, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 72 65 68, Ian Woosnam 67 67 71
206 Alex Cejka (Germany) 70 69 67, Stephen Dodd 68 69 69, David Gilford 66 71 69, Ricardo Gonzalez (Argentina) 71 67 68, Thomas Levet (France) 70 68 68, Mikael Lundberg (Sweden) 69 67 70, Brett Rumford (Australia) 66 72 68, Richard Sterne (South Africa) 69 69 68—Reuters
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