Chonburi (Thailand), Feb 18 (PTI) Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen was in sizzling form, grabbing eight birdies without dropping a shot as he took a two-shot lead into the final round of the Thailand Classic.
Olesen is 18-under for three rounds and is two ahead of fellow Dane Nicolai Hojgaard (64) and German Yannik Paul (66).
Manu Gandas, after missing cuts in Ras Al Khaimah and Singapore, is finding his feet as he fired a third straight under par round with 2-under 70. After 71 and 69 on the first two days, he is now 6-under and tied 42nd.
Gandas had four birdies, three of them on the front nine, and had one bogey each on front and back nines.
Gandas will feature in the Indian Open next week for the first time as a member of the DP World Tour, for which he earned a card by winning the domestic PGTI Tour rankings.
Meanwhile, India’s star player, Shubhankar Sharma missed the cut.
Olesen, searching for his seventh DP World Tour title and a top-10 finish in the year-end rankings to get into the PGA Tour, moved to 18-under and leads the 21-year-old Nicolai Hojgaard (64), whose card included seven birdies, an eagle and bogey.
Paul, who won in Mallorca last year, shot 66 with seven birdies and one bogey.
Olesen, who played four weeks in a row in the Middle East, took a break and is now back for two weeks more in Asia as he plays Thailand this week and the Hero Indian Open next week.
The six-time DP World Tour winner has had a decent start in 2023 with T-20 in Abu Dhabi, T-16 in Hero Dubai Desert Classic and T4 in Ras Al Khaimah, so he is due for a solid result.
Olesen’s previous victory came at last year’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett. The 2018 Ryder Cup player Olesen carded four birdies each on the front and back nine, with his final gain of the day on the 15th hole proving crucial as he extended his advantage. Olesen has an outstanding record when holding the 54-hole lead, yielding five victories from six opportunities.
Højgaard is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour with Paul earning his maiden victory at last year’s Mallorca Golf Open.
Six-time DP World Tour winner Joost Luiten moved up to fourth place on 15-under par after a seven-under par 65, one stroke ahead of Kazuki Higa of Japan, South Korean Jeunghun Wang and England’s Dale Whitnell in a share of fifth.
Olesen said, “I think overall it was a pretty good round. I didn’t get into a lot of trouble and some of the par fours and par fives I hit it close and could two-putt for birdie. I made it fairly easy for myself, which is nice. It’s not always like that.
“It’s unbelievable. The last three or four years there’s so many Danes coming up. The twins have so much talent and have shown that already. It’s very impressive for a country like Denmark. It’s not ideal with the weather, only five and a half million people. But I think we’re good at really grinding it out. When you have goals and work hard for it, it pays off. It’s really impressive and something I’m proud of,” he added.
Source: PTI News
