World Golf Championships 2012: Day 3 Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
Lee Westwood went birdie crazy on Saturday, and that led him to a share of the lead at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China. His 11 birdies spawned a 61 in the third round. He and Louis Oosthuizen are deadlocked atop the leaderboard at 18 under.
Oosthuizen has to consider himself fortunate.
After an opponent shoots a round like Westwood did, he can usually take a commanding lead. Thanks to Oostuizen's outstanding 65 and 63, respectively, in the first two rounds, he was able to hold on to a share of the lead despite shooting a 70 on Saturday.
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As good as Westwood was, he didn't have the round of the day. That distinction belonged to Brandt Snedeker. The American shot a course-record 60 to move up 30 spots on the leaderboard into eighth place.
Here is a list of the others still in the hunt at Sheshan International GC:
| $ | Pos | Start | Ctry | First Name / Last Name | Rnd3 | Thru | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | T2 | T12 |  | Lee WESTWOOD | SC | -11 | F | -18 | 70 | 67 | 61 | -- | 198 | |||
| 15 | T2 | 1 |  | Louis OOSTHUIZEN | SC | -2 | F | -18 | 65 | 63 | 70 | -- | 198 | |||
| 8 | 4 | T6 |  | Phil MICKELSON | SC | -6 | F | -15 | 66 | 69 | 66 | -- | 201 | |||
| 43 | T5 | T12 | | Ian POULTER | SC | -7 | F | -14 | 69 | 68 | 65 | -- | 202 | |||
| 33 | T5 | T8 | | Bill HAAS | SC | -6 | F | -14 | 69 | 67 | 66 | -- | 202 | |||
| 16 | T5 | T2 | | Ernie ELS | SC | -3 | F | -14 | 70 | 63 | 69 | -- | 202 | |||
| 3 | 8 | T38 | | Brandt SNEDEKER | SC | -12 | F | -13 | 72 | 71 | 60 | -- | 203 | |||
| - | T9 | T27 |  | Gaganjeet BHULLAR | SC | -9 | F | -12 | 73 | 68 | 63 | -- | 204 | |||
| 13 | T9 | T17 |  | Carl PETTERSSON | SC | -6 | F | -12 | 70 | 68 | 66 | -- | 204 | |||
| - | T9 | T12 |  | Martin KAYMER | SC | -5 | F | -12 | 68 | 69 | 67 | -- | 204 | |||
| 27 | T9 | T8 | | Scott PIERCY | SC | -4 | F | -12 | 68 | 68 | 68 | -- | 204 | |||
| 24 | T9 | T2 |  | Adam SCOTT | SC | -1 | F | -12 | 65 | 68 | 71 | -- | 204 | |||
Highlights
Ian Poulter's Fantastic Eagle
Ian Poulter is only four strokes behind the leader, and shots like this are the reason why. Take a look at this beautiful shot for eagle. He hits it out of the fairway bunker on the par-4 14th hole and finds the bottom of the cup.
He shot a solid 7 under for the day, and he's tied for fifth heading into the final round.
Check out the shot:
Twitter Reaction
You Mad Bro?
Graeme McDowell took his frustrations out on an innocent door prior to Saturday's action, per this tweet from the man himself:
"Busted up my hand a bit last night. Had an argument with a door. Nothing broken. Just bruised and swollen. I should be okay for 2moro#HSBC
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) November 2, 2012"
Maybe he should have anger management issues more often. McDowell shot a 68 on Saturday, it was by far his best round of the tournament.
Way Too Easy?
Jason Sobel of The Golf Channel playfully speaks on Snedeker and the golfer's recent flirtation with a sub-60 round.
"Brandt Snedeker becomes the latest in a growing line of players to flirt with 59. Either these guys are good or golf is just way too easy.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGC) November 3, 2012"
I'd say these guys are just pretty damn good. Especially when you consider the guy that flirted with the 59 isn't even in the top five of the leaderboards.
Looking Ahead to the Final Round
It looks as though a duel between Westwood and Oosthuizen is on the horizon, but don't count out the rest of the field.
Obviously, Snedeker is playing well, and Oostuizen has to clean up his putting issues if he hopes to win. Another player to watch out for is Gaganjeet Bhullar.
He has played progressively better through each round. He fired a 9-under 63 on Saturday. It was the second day in a row he bettered the previous day's performance by five strokes. I'm not saying he's set to shoot a 58 on Sunday, but his game is obviously pointing in the right direction.
The final day should be fun.
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