Finch forges ahead of Bowditch
Finch is in prime position to clinch the title on the final day
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Saturday, 01, Dec 2007 10:56
Englishman Richard Finch leads the New Zealand Open by three shots on 14-under-par heading into the final day's play.
Finch carded a third round 64 to forge ahead of overnight leader Steven Bowditch who could only manage a one-under-par 71 after making a triple bogey at the ninth hole.
But the round of the day went to Australian Peter Fowler who beat the course record, set by Finch and Bowditch yesterday, by two strokes finishing with a ten-under 62 to move into third place, four shots behind Finch.
The Englishman made nine birdies and dropped just one shot as he opened a gap between himself and his rivals.
Finch revealed that he had a look at the leaderboard midway through the back nine and says that it helped motivate him to keep searching for more birdies, which he achieved on the final two holes.
He said: "I was looking at the leaderboard on the way round at about the 13th or 14th and thought that if I could press on over the last few holes and make a few birdies I could open up a bit of a lead."
Fowler landed eight birdies and an eagle on his way to setting the course record -which also equalled the low score record for the tournament.
The Australian is now in contention to challenge Finch for the title which looked unlikely at the start of the day when he was in the middle of the chasing pack on level par.