With the President of Indonesia, Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, watching on, Felipe Aguilar maintained his two stroke advantage at the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open.
As the red carpet was rolled out to welcome the host nation's President at the beautiful Cengkareng Golf Club, Aguilar, as well as second placed Jeev Milkha Singh of India and China 's Liang Wen-chong produced fitting third round performances to dazzle their most distinguished follower.
Aguilar's three under par 67 saw him move to 16 under par 194, while Singh and Liang posted respective scores of five and six under to stay within striking distance of the leader on 14 under.
After a relatively slow start to his third round, Aguilar, who lipped out for par on the first hole of the day, re-asserted total control of his golf swing with a wonderful performance through the middle of his round.
A birdie on the seventh got the Chilean back in the mix, and he followed that with a sumptuous eagle three on the ninth after a great drive and five wood left him 25 foot chance. Aguilar drained the putt, and followed that with a birdie three on the 11th before parring his home to remain on top of the leaderboard.
“I think that eagle putt is the longest putt I have had all week,” said Aguilar, twice a winner on the 2007 Challenge Tour.
“It feels pretty good going into tomorrow, but you never know if you're going to win until the last putt drops. We'll find out tomorrow when the fat lady sings! We'll know after 18 holes tomorrow. I really hope it's me but you can never tell with this game. Nothing is for sure in this game.”
Singh was equally defensive when talking about winning what would be a third European Tour title following his 2006 victories at the Volvo China Open and the Volvo Masters.
“I started off a little shaky but got it under control with a birdie on the fifth. I had another chance on the sixth that I didn't convert but I stayed patient and had a good run of birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth and saved myself on the back nine,” said Singh.
“I hit a few errant shots on the back but came home strong with a great birdie on the 15th and then the 18th so it was a good day overall – I am happy with it. I just want to go out there tomorrow and follow my processes and routines. If it comes to me then great, but we will see what happens.”
After a disappointing front nine, Liang roared back into contention with a back nine score of five under par 29 to join Singh in a tie for second spot.
“I'm ready to mount a strong challenge tomorrow,” said the 2007 Asian Tour Number One. “I'll try my best – anything can happen in this game so we are just going to have to wait and see what happens.”
While most of the final round focus will fall on the top three players in the last match of the fourth round, Aguilar, Singh and Liang will have to keep looking over their shoulders.
There are birdies to be had at Cengkareng and with James Kamte and Prom Meesawat on 13 under, Mark Brown, Joost Luiten, Prayad Marksaeng and Wang Ter-chang on 11 under, the enjoy Kakarta Astro Indonesia Open is set for a grandstand finish.
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