SCORESHEET
DAY 2
DAY 1

December 3rd 2011, Hong Kong: For a guy who feels uncomfortable with the golf course, Spaniard Alvaro Quiros was on the brink of winning the UBS Hong Kong Open after a solid third round of three-under-par 67 on Saturday.

The big-hitting Quiros, who has held the joint lead since day one, produced a bogey-free effort at the tricky Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling to pull one shot clear of fast-charging Peter Hanson of Sweden, who carded a 65, in the US$2.75 million championship sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

Asia’s first Major champion, Y.E. Yang of Korea also fired a 65 to move up to tied third place alongside Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who overcame a disastrous start to shoot a 67 and lie two back.

World number two Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland scrambled to a 70, recovering from an outward 37 with birdies on 13 and 17 and will enter the final round three back as he bids to improve on two previous runner-up outings in the UBS Hong Kong Open and also keep alive his hopes of winning the Race to Dubai.

As one of the longest hitter on the European Tour, Quiros, who leads on 10-under-par 200, has voiced his discomfort on the par 70, 6,370 yards Fanling layout which requires precision rather than power to overcome. But the Spaniard, chasing a sixth career victory, continued to surprise even himself to stay in pole position although the difficulty in holing putts on the firm greens remained a mystery to him.

“I played good. I hit the ball great from tee to green. But the putting was very, very poor. I mean, we have had a really humble match about putting, speaking between Rory and me. It's difficult on this golf course with this speed and how the greens are becoming that firm. It's going to be difficult I think to shoot really, really low,” said Quiros, who is chasing a sixth career win.

“If you analyse the tee shots, they are not for a fade player as me. Tomorrow I will let you know if I feel comfortable or not.”

Hanson, a four-time winner in Europe, enjoyed a better day on the greens, holing some monsters to sneak into contention. “To sum it up, it was very good putting. It was very solid and a couple of good bunker shots that saved some pars through the middle part of the round. It's so nice when you make some good putts. Made a couple of long ones, one off the green on 11 from probably 35 feet, and I think I made one more really long one on 15 from 25 feet.”

History-maker Yang, an Asian Tour honorary member, sank six birdies against a lone bogey to give himself a shot of winning the UBS Hong Kong Open. “I'm in a good position, better than the first or second round. One more day to focus, 18 holes to play. I think my chances are fairly good,” said Yang, winner of the 2009 PGA Championship where he defeated Tiger Woods.

“There was fairly minimal wind, so that helped a lot. The conditions were ideal. And my irons and my putter were playing as I've always wanted them to play today.”

He said his title charge was due largely to him playing the par four ninth hole better this week where he is two-under on the hole through three days. “I've had some trouble with the ninth hole (previously). I shot last year alone six-over for four days but this year it's a lot better,” said Yang, who is searching for a first win of the season.

After a bogey and double bogey in his opening two holes, Pariya came charging back with six birdies in his next 10 holes as he fought his way up to joint third place with Yang. The 27-year-old, who has missed five cuts in his last seven tournaments, said a week at home with his coach has worked wonders for his game.

“I keep telling myself, okay, the round is not over, you know, you made it through the weekend already after I played really bad the last couple months. And you know, I said just go out there and enjoy it and that's what we did, just one shot at a time and try to make something happen. Absolutely got lucky, it kind of went my way today,” said Pariya, who holds one Asian Tour title.

“Being here and playing amongst the top guys is already progress, so I won't expect too much. I'll just go out there and enjoy it. I've been in this position before but not this year. You know, there's always a thing called pressure there, but if you don't put pressure on yourself, nobody can put pressure on you.”

World number two McIlroy looked jaded as he slipped out of the lead. “I just didn't have anything out there. Just mentally wasn't really at the races, and just struggled to really get anything going. You know, it was one of those days where nothing much was happening, and it was nice to birdie a couple coming in to sort of keep me in it. I'm only three behind. So if I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, I'm right back in it,” said the 22-year-old reigning U.S. Open champion.