Oliver Wilson leads by one over Geoff Ogilvy, Mickelson & Garcia two back

Sunday, November 9, 2008 11:59 am (Eastern)

By Courtesy of the Asian Tour

Oliver Wilson is just 16 holes away from his first European Tour victory, only problem is that he has Geoff Ogilvy one back and Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson two back.

Shanghai, China, November 9: England’s Oliver Wilson continued to maintain his lead by taking a one shot lead over former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy of Australia after playing two holes of his fourth round at the HSBC Champions on Sunday.

Photo: © Andrew Redington & Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images Going into Monday's final round Oliver Wilson (middle) leads Geoff Ogilvy by a shot and Phil Mickelson (left bottom), and Sergio Garcia (far right) by two

Ogilvy, meanwhile posted a bogey and birdie to end the day in even par after the fading light brought play to a halt. Defending champion Phil Mickelson of the United States, who completed the final group alongside Wilson and Ogilvy, is a further shot behind in third with Sergio Garcia of Spain.

Earlier in the day, Wilson shot a three-under-par 69 to take the lead after the third round on 12-under-par 204 total, with the final round now scheduled to move into Monday. Ogilvy, who started the day T3rd, moved up one place to second after carding a 70 to finish on 205 while Mickelson, Garcia and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson were bunched together in third on matching 206s. Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng maintained his position as the best from Asia when he posted a 71 to place him tied for eighth on 209.

The battle for supremacy began with Wilson having to battle the strong winds to stay in touch with the leaders, having started the day a single shot behind joint-overnight leaders Garcia and Stenson. “It was tough today. Definitely the toughest day we've had so far. It was cold this morning. Some of the longer par-fours all played into the wind today and the pin positions were pretty tough as well,” said Wilson who is hoping for his breakthrough win this week.

Wilson started his move when he nailed a birdie on the second hole. He followed up with another birdie on the 12th after the turn, before giving one stroke back with a bogey at 13th. However, with two more birdies on the 14th and 16th on his homeward run, Wilson broke away from the chasing pact to enjoy a slender one-stroke lead at the top. “Any time you're leading, it has got to be the best place to be. I would like a few more shots, but I’m happy to be here, playing really nicely, playing solid and hopefully I can keep that going onto this afternoon,” added Wilson. Meanwhile, recent Ryder Cup winner and current world number eight, Anthony Kim of the United States was disqualified for using a damaged driver.

Tournament organizers underlined the growing stature of the event by deciding to continue the event into Monday so that the event can be decided over 72 holes, after inclement weather forced play for round two to be abandoned on Friday. Support of the players for the decision to complete the fourth round on Monday is also an indication of how far the staging of events in Asia has come. “This tournament is of global significance so, of course, we should play to a finish,” said current world number three, Garcia.

Leading third round scores
204 - Oliver Wilson (ENG) 67-68-69
205 - Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 70-65-70,
206 - Henrik Stenson (SWE) 65-69-72, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 66-68-72, Phil Mickelson (USA) 66-70-70
208 - Adam Scott (AUS) 66-71-71, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 69-72-67
209 - Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 68-70-71, Peter Hanson SWE) 69-70-70, Paul Casey (ENG) 71-70-68
210 - Alvaro Quiros (ESP) 70-67-73
211 - Damien Mcgrane (IRL) 68-71-72, Richard Sterne (RSA) 71-69-71
212 - Graeme Mcdowell (NIR) 71-65-76, Andrew Mclardy (RSA) 69-69-74 , Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 71-69-72, Soren Hansen (DEN) 71-70-71

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