HONG KONG—Alexander Kang of USA shot a 7 under par 63 on Day 3 of the PGA Tour China Series Clearwater Bay Open to move 4 shots ahead of the chasing pack going into the final round after carding 64, 69, 63 for a 196 total. Kang has been the leading position this year before and has held on to win – so his nerves are secure.
“I won by six earlier this year with a four-stroke lead [after 3 rounds], so here I hope I win by seven,” laughed Kang following his round. “The greens here are really perfect. The course is not that long, and I’m not the longest hitter. The par-4s are reachable, and my short irons have been good.”
Kang’s biggest test of the day may have been when he landed, with a difficult lie, in the greenside bunker of the 18th green, he blasted out to 7 feet and then holed the put for his 7th birdie of the round.
“I think my aggressive play has given me a good season this year. I also have a few missed cuts. But when I do make cuts, I’m in contention rather than coming in 20th or 30th. In professional golf, I think you would rather be aggressive than to play conservative because the money is usually top-heavy,” he added.
South Korean Daihan Lee also carded a 7-under par score for the day progressing from equal 16 overnight to join the final group on Sunday Nov 6, together with Kang and Xinjun Zhang. Zhang who also moved up the leaderboard as the day progressed finishing the day with a 6-under par and a 200 total for the 3-rounds.
This is uncharted territory for Lee who a consistent cut-maker but his best finish, in this his first season on the PGA Tour China Series, is a tied 9th place in May at the Wuhan Open.
Lee is currently lying 54th on the Order of Merit and needs a top top-50 finish at the end of the year to secure his place in the PGA Tour China in 2017.
“I’m just looking to move inside the top 50 on the Order of Merit so I can keep my card for next year,” Lee said. “That is my goal, and we'll see what happens Sunday.”
