November 8th 2014, Shanghai, China: Players from the Asian circuit promised to stage a gallant fight back after the red numbers eluded all but two Asian players at the third round of the US$ 8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions on Saturday.
Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata provided the bright sparks by staying in contention with a four-under-par 68 to take second place, trailing Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell by one shot at the Sheshan International Golf Club.
China’s Wu Ashun also continued to spearhead the home charge by carding a 69 for tied 15th place at the final World Golf Championships event of the year.
But otherwise it was a day where other leading Asian heavyweights such as India’s Anirban Lahiri and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee struggled.
After enjoying a brief resurgence with a second round 70, Lahiri stumbled to another 74 like his opening day.
The Indian, a five-time Asian Tour winner, started off promisingly with a birdie on the second hole but his game started to unravel with a bogey on four followed by a double-bogey-five on six.
He dropped another two shots on 11 and 12 but limited the damage with two successive birdies on 13 and 14 before signing for a three-day total of two-over-par 218 under windy and chilly conditions which dipped to a low of 14 degree Celsius in the early morning.
“My game’s still there and I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. It’s just a matter of getting the ball onto the fairway and taking advantage of the opportunities which were far and few today,” said Lahiri.
Thongchai was also left to rue another day of missed opportunities as he traded five bogeys against two birdies to slip further down to tied-54th place.
“The conditions were quite tough out there today. But it’s okay. I’ll try again I hope to finish off well tomorrow,” said Thongchai.
Current Order of Merit leader David Lipsky of the United States signed for a 72 to take tied-62nd place while Philippines’ Antonio Lascuna added a 73 to his previous rounds of 76 and 79 to share 72nd place with South Africa’s Jaco Van Zyl.
