Hendry takes advantage of Song’s collapse to share lead

New Zealand’s Michael Hendry moved to a share of the third round lead with South Korea’s Song Yong-han after signing for a three-under-par 69 in the penultimate round of the Casio World Open on Saturday.
 
Overnight solo leader Song could not extend his advantage further after he dropped three shots in his last four holes to allow the Kiwi to move atop the leaderboard with their identical three-day total of 12-under-par 204.
 
Home favourite Ryo Ishikawa was tied for third with Kunihiro Kamii and Taisei Shimizu after he returned with a 71 for a 205 total at the Kochi Kuroshiro Country Club. 
 
Song started the round promisingly with an opening birdie on the first hole before he picked up another gain on six. After making the turn in 34, he parred the next two holes before dropping a shot on 12. 
 
The South Korean recovered fast with another birdie on 13 but failed to pull further after stumbling in his last four holes where he bogeyed holes 15, 16 and 17 under gusty conditions.
 
“The wind was incredibly strong, and it was so cold I couldn’t feel my hands. It was tough towards the end, but I’m glad I managed to hang in there and finish at the top,” said Song.
 
Cancer survivor Hendry, who returned to the winner’s circle after nine years with his win at For The Players by The Players in May, is hoping to get another shot at glory, with that prospect remaining a possibility with 18 holes remaining.
 
“On the front nine, the wind was swirling, but on the back nine, it was coming steadily from one direction. It was a very tough day with the strong winds and fast greens. It was a round where I couldn’t afford to let my guard down, so I’m pleased with how I performed under the circumstances.
 
“I don’t plan to change my strategy much for the final round. My iron shots have been very solid so far, and I hope to maintain that consistency,” said the 45-year-old New Zealander.
 
Leading third round scores
All Japanese nationals unless indicated otherwise
 
204 – Song Yong-han (KOR) 66-65-73, Michael Hendry (NZL) 69-66-69
205 – Kunihiro Kamii, 68-68-69, Ryo Ishikawa 65-69-71, Taisei Shimizu 67-65-73
206 – Shugo Imahira 69-70-67, Hiroshi Iwata 66-67-73
207 – Ryu Hyun-woo (KOR) 69-67-71
208 – Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 66-73-69, Yujiro Ohori 70-69-69, Suguru Shimoke 72-67-69, Shotaro Tanaka 68-70-70, Kota Kaneko 67-71-            70, Ryutaro Nagano 69-67-72, Yusuke Sakamoto 67-68-73, Koshiro Maeda 68-67-73
 
Ends.