November 22, 2008 – Oliver Wilson will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the UBS Hong Kong Open as he searches for his long-awaited first European Tour title after eight runner-up finishes.
The English player carded a superb five-under-par 65 at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling on Saturday (November 22) to finish the day at 13-under 197.
That left him a stroke ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen Tang with German veteran Bernhard Langer another shot back in third.
“I’m obviously very happy,” said Wilson. “It’s tricky out there, that front nine is quite tough. Our group, we didn’t really do much on the first few holes, we didn’t really get off to the best of starts.
“You sort of feel like you’re losing ground all the time around here, so you’ve just got to be patient. I managed to do that pretty well.
“I putted well again today. So if I can keep that one warm tomorrow, then we should be in good shape.”
Wilson started out with a bogey on the par-four first but responded with birdies on the sixth and seventh holes and collected another four birdies on the back nine.
Having been so close to his maiden win on several occasions, Wilson insisted he would not be putting pressure on himself on Sunday.
“If I can keep getting up there, I’ll break through eventually, but each time I’m getting up there, I’m learning something. Let’s see what happens.
“It’s important tomorrow to try not to think about winning. There’s a bit of a logjam at the top of the leaderboard.
“It needs a good round, but hopefully I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and it will be enough.”
Lin, who has three Asian Tour victories in his career, leapt into contention with an excellent 64 that included back-to-back birdies to finish.
“I birdied the first hole and it gave me very good momentum to carry on for the next 17 holes,” he explained.
“There were a couple of holes where I almost made bogey but got up and down and saved par. Overall, I was very impressed with my performance.”
Behind Langer, a quartet of players were in fourth on 10-under 200 – Italy’s Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Pablo Larrazábal of Spain.
Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie – the 2005 UBS Hong Kong Open champion – was on nine-under 201 after a 68.
The UBS Hong Kong Open – which is once again co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours – is celebrating its 50th edition, having first been played in 1959.
