1 May 2005	Sunday	21 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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SHANGHAI, April 30: Ernie Els fired a solid four-under-par 68 to extend his lead to five strokes in the third round of the $1.5 million Asian Open on Saturday. The world number three cooled off after his brilliant 62 on Friday but still improved to finish on 19-under 197 at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club. Britain’s Simon Wakefield equalled the day’s best score with a 66 to take sole possession of second place at 14 under.

Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn was a further stroke off the pace in third, after a 68, while Frenchman Jean-Francois Lucquin’s 69 left him at 11 under. Els began the day with a four-stroke advantage and never looked like relinquishing his lead, despite bogeying the fourth, ninth and 12th holes. A six at the par-five ninth, where his drive found the water, particularly annoyed him although he managed to sink a 20-foot putt for birdie at the next. The twice US Open champion has won European Tour titles in Dubai and Qatar this year and tied for sixth at last week’s Johnnie Walker Classic in Beijing.

LEADING THIRD ROUND SCORES:

197 — Ernie Els (South Africa) 67, 62, 68.

202 — Simon Wakefield (Great Britain) 67, 69, 66.

204 — Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 71, 65, 68.

205 — Jean-Francois Lucquin (France) 70, 66, 69.

206 — Eddie Lee (New Zealand) 67, 66, 73.

207 — Luke Donald (Great Britain) 70, 69, 68; Soren Hansen (Denmark) 69, 70, 68; Jeev Milkha Singh (India) 69, 68, 70.

208 — Peter Lawrie (Ireland) 67, 70, 71; Jean van de Velde (France) 67, 69, 72.

209 — Raphael Jacquelin (France) 67, 67, 75; Richard Sterne (South Africa) 69, 69, 71.

210 — Simon Dyson (Great Britain) 70, 74, 66; James Kingston (South Africa) 70, 71, 69; Edward Michaels (United States) 74, 69, 67; Wade Ormsby (Australia) 72, 67, 71; David Park (Great Britain) 70, 69, 71; Patrik Sjoland (Sweden) 70, 68, 72; Lian-Wei Zhang (China) 70, 71, 69.

ATWAL AHEAD

NEW ORLEANS: Arjun Atwal fired a four-under 68 to take sole possession of the second-round lead at the $5.5 million New Orleans Classic on Friday, one shot clear of American J.J. Henry.

India’s Atwal, who has seven international victories but is seeking his first PGA Tour success, had shared the overnight lead with US Masters runner-up Chris DiMarco but mounted a charge on the back nine of the TPC of Louisiana course, carding four birdies and a single bogey to sit on 11-under 133 through 36 holes.

LEADING SECOND ROUND SCORES:

133 — Arjun Atwal (India) 65, 68.

134 — J.J. Henry (United States) 67, 67.

136 — Chris DiMarco (United States) 65, 71; Tim Clark (South Africa) 67, 69.

137 — Lucas Glover (United States) 69, 68.

138 — Vijay Singh (Fiji) 67, 71; Richard S. Johnson (Sweden) 70, 68; Hank Kuehne (United States) 69, 69.

139 — Hidemichi Tanaka (Japan) 69, 70; Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 68, 71; James Driscoll (United States) 68, 71; Sean O’Hair (United States) 68, 71; Darron Stiles (United States) 68, 71.

140 — Craig Bowden (United States) 69, 71 Kirk Triplett (United States) 71, 69; Frank Lickliter II (United States) 70, 70; John Rollins (United States) 71, 69; Brian Davis (Britain) 71, 69; Hunter Haas (United States) 71, 69; Chris Anderson (United States) 70, 70.—Reuters