HONG KONG, 14 January, 2014 (HK Golfer News Wire) - The stage is set for a final round showdown at the Hong Kong Golf Club after Australia's Scott Barr joined compatriot Unho Park at the top of the leaderboard at the end of an enthralling second day's play at the HK$450,000 Ageas HKPGA Championship.
Singapore-based Barr handled the windy conditions at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club better than anyone in the 69-man field, firing a 68 to match Park, who was round in 70, on a two-round score of two-under. The duo hold a five-shot lead over Hong Kong's Wong Woon-man, who aced the par-3 16th, in third place.
One of the Asian Tour's most consistent performers over the past decade, 41-year-old Barr chipped in for birdie at the fourth before dropping shots at the sixth and seventh. Finding his rhythm on the closing nine, Barr bounced back with birdies at 13, 15 and 18 to boost his chances of claiming a maiden Ageas HKPGA Championship title.
"I was just trying to stay patient out there," said Barr, who memorably lost out to Colin Montgomerie in a play-off for the 2003 Macau Open. "I fumbled a couple of holes early on but managed to make a few putts coming in, which is encouraging for tomorrow."
Despite being friends off the course, Barr admitted he would like nothing more than to deny Park a record-breaking third successive Ageas HKPGA Championship win.
"I'm out there to win," said Barr, who has racked up more than US$1.5 million in prize money over the past 10 years. "Unho and I have played a lot of golf together, and I can't control what he does tomorrow, but if I can edge him it would be a great confidence boost for the rest of the season."
Park, who has a perfect record in the tournament having emerged victorious in both his previous appearances, struggled on the greens, making only one birdie, at the 18th, in his level par round.
"I couldn't hole any putts today," bemoaned Park, who turned 40 last week. "I would have liked to have had a bit of a cushion going into the final round but I'm still in a good position. I've been thinking about it [winning for a third time] a lot, and I'm going to have my work cut out playing with Scott – it looks like it's going to be like a match play situation – so I hope to have a bit more luck back at Fanling."
Wong, who is hoping to become the first local winner of the championship since Dominique Boulet in 2004, started poorly, making bogeys at his first three holes. A birdie at the 15th preceded the fireworks at 16, where his 7-iron from 166 yards found the bottom of the cup.
"I was very surprised as I didn't see it go in," laughed Wong, who won the 2010 HKPGA Order of Merit title. "I'm five shots back but I still feel like I have a chance. Unho and Scott are great players, so I'll need to be at my best to beat them."
1=Unho Park Australia 68 70 138
Scott Barr Australia 70 68 138
3 Wong Woon-man Hong Kong 71 72 143
4=Chau Pui Hong Kong 72 72 144
James Stewart Hong Kong 72 72 144
6=Lam Zhiqun Singapore 70 76 146
Koh Deng Shan Singapore 69 77 146
Tim Tang Hong Kong 73 73 146
Martin Liu (Am) Hong Kong 74 72 146
10 Jovick Lee Hong Kong 74 74 148
11 Grant Gibson Hong Kong 72 77 149
12=Tong Chun-po Hong Kong 73 78 151
Wayne Grady Australia 77 74 151
14=Danny Kan Hong Kong 72 80 152
Ducky Tang Hong Kong 73 79 152
Chris Tang Hong Kong 75 77 152
Tsai Chun-yu Chinese Taipei 76 76 152
18=Nathan Goulding Hong Kong 77 77 154
Alexander Cheng Hong Kong 75 79 154
20=Brad Schadewitz Hong Kong 76 79 155
Wilson Choy Hong Kong 77 78 155