World number one Dustin Johnson of the United States remains the player to beat after he extended his advantage to six shots over close friend Brooks Koepka with a third round four-under-par 68 at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Saturday.

 

 

 

Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Johnson would cap off another commanding performance with his three-day total of 17-under-par 199 on a wind-swept day at the Sheshan International Golf Club.
 

 

Koepka’s title ambitions took a dent when he mixed his card with five birdies, three bogeys and a triple-bogey for a 73. The 2017 U.S. Open winner, who took the first round lead, will start his final round in second place while Olympics Silver Medalist Henrik Stenson of Sweden will begin his in third place after signing for a 69.
 

 

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat had a day to forget when he returned with a 75 having started the day in tied-third place. Compatriot Poom Saksansin, on the other hand, enjoyed his best round so far with a 68 that moved him into a share of 15th place.
 

Malaysia’s Gavin Green, Asian Tour current Order of Merit leader, signed for a 73 that placed him in equal 21st place.
 
 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW?

 

 

• Dustin Johnson remains on course to become the first player in history to win three of the four World Golf Championships in a single season after claiming the WGC-Mexico Championship and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
• Brooks Koepka is making his second appearance at the WGC-HSBC Champions. He finished tied-40 last year.
• Koepka’s best WGC outing to date is a tied-fifth finish at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play earlier this year where he lost to Jason Day in the quarter-finals.
• Poom Saksansin only arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday evening. He has not played at the Sheshan International Golf Club before and posted rounds of 73 and 70 in his opening two rounds.
• Poom is a two-time Asian Tour winner. He won his first title in Indonesia last year before injuring his back. He returned to his best form when he won the TAKE Solutions Masters in India in August. Also finished tied second in Japan last month.
• Earlier in his career, Poom played mostly on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) where he won once in 2015. Since then, his career has been on the upswing. He turned professional in 2013 at the age of 20 because he did not want financial support from his parents.
• Japan’s Shugo Imahira was disqualified from the third round after he did not show up for his tee time at 10.35am as he had mistakenly seen a wrong starting time. Imahira’s consolation is that he’ll still earn the last place prize money of US$43,000, although that will not count as his official earnings.

 
Day 2: Dustin Johnson storms up the leaderboard at WGC-HSBC Champions