Dubai Ladies Masters: Reid sizzles with a round of 65

The ‘Shanshan Show’ continued without a dramatic twist to the script as the in-form Chinese marched inexorably towards winning her second title at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Club on Friday.

Four in front after round two, Feng returned a superb third round 66 to reach 17 under, five shots ahead of England’s Melissa Reid, who made the biggest move up the leaderboard on Friday, firing a sizzling bogey-free 65 – the best score of the tournament thus far.

Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, Charley Hull of England, and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda share third place on 10 under going into the final day while American Cheyenne Woods slipped into a tie for 15th on five under after settling for a level par round and will play with defending champion Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, who also stands at five under.

England’s Georgia Hall produced the shot of the day when she aced the 167-yard par-3 15th hole with a laser like 4-iron.

The 18-year-old from Bournemouth won a gleaming Mercedes Benz C 200 for her effort but, not having had time to get her driving licence, will now have to buy herself some driving lessons.

Feng, the winner of the 2012 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, opened and closed her third round with birdies.

In between, she eagled the third and picked up three more birdies against a lone bogey on the fourth, to continue her domination.

“I think I did pretty well,” said Feng, who is ranked fifth in the world. “When I was three under after three holes, my goal was actually to get to 20-under. I am now 17 under, so I think I still have a chance to get to 20,” she said.

About Reid’s third-round 65, Feng said: "I would say Melissa is a really good player, and I've played with her many times. We are good friends, so I think I'll have a good time tomorrow. But, I never change my goal. If I make top three, I will be happy. And if I have a chance to win, I'm going to give my best.”

England’s Reid kept things interesting with a stunning Friday charge that gave her an outside chance to catch up with Feng.

“It has been a long time coming. I worked for a week with my coach, Kevin Craggsefore this week at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, and we found the missing ingredient. So, it was nice to put it into play.

“Shanshan is playing great. You can't take that away from her. It will be difficult to catch her, but if I keep playing the way I am, then will try to put as much pressure on her as possible without giving away too much. It feels nice to be within touching distance of her,” she added.

Placed second overnight on eight under, England’s Hull rattled off seven birdies, but a triple bogey on the 12th undermined what would been a very solid round.

“It was just bad course management that resulted in triple bogey.

“My caddie told me to chip out but I went for it. But I'm happy I went for it because I learn from my mistakes. I have to make them to learn from them,” said Hull, who is currently leading the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit race ahead of France’s Gwladys Nocera, who is on seven under going into the final round.

Elsewhere, young Indian amateur Aditi Ashok continued to make her presence felt in a world-class field, carding level-par 73 in third round to stay at one over, but four shots behind Lee So-young of South Korea, the only other amateur in the field.


 

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