Senden shows patience to regain lead at Australian Open

John Senden has a two shot lead going into the final day of the 2012 Emirates Australian Open.

The approach shot the 14th at The Lakes.
John Senden opened his third round with back-to-back bogey’s and looked set to play himself out of contention for the 2012 Emirates Australian Open before the world number 38 steadied with a birdie on the sixth before an eagle on the par-5 11th hole.

“I had a sluggish start with the hand brake on a bit. But once I got through three or four holes I was feeling good again. I make a nice birdie on six  which made me feel I still had a show. Then on the back nine I started to feel really good. The eagle helped on 11. It was a day of trying to do the best I can, stay in stay in position. It is nice to be leading the tournament.” Senden said after his round.

Birdies at the 13th and 14th saw him tied for the lead with Justin Rose at 7-under par and he then went on to avoid bogey over the final four holes, despite Senden describing the course conditions as “almost on the edge” for his final two holes.

“I thought the last two holes were pretty much on the edge. The golf course is very dry. I would not say that it was on the edge but it was quite windy out there. It is tough to keep the ball straight in the air.”

Senden will take a two shot lead going into the final round over Englishman Justin Rose.
Rose shared the lead for most of the day and appeared set to join Senden as the third round leader before two bogey’s that saw him drop back. His 3-iron into the par-5 17th look good before taking a big bounce and skipped over the green. From there he took bogey and could consider himself unlucky not to have been putting for eagle.

“I thought 17 was a very tough pin today. I was unrewarded with a very nice three iron. I don’t know where it landed but it must have been front edge of the green. It just trickled through the back. I ended up making six but I was still in the golf tournament.” Rose said.

Three players hold a share of third place and just three shots behind Senden including Matt Jones who secured his US PGA Tour card for 2013 after finishing 11th in last week’s six round qualifying tournament in California.

Overnight co-leader Marcus Fraser must surely be battling fatigue after travelling around globe over the last few months eager to creep into the world’s top-50 before year’s end. The tough conditions got the better of Fraser late on Saturday and recorded three bogey’s in his final four holes and to drop five shots behind Senden.
The stage is set for an intriguing final day with Senden assuming the lead just like he did before the final round of the 2011 Australian Open, eventually losing by just a shot from Greg Chalmers. Senden will no doubt be looking to go one better tomorrow.

One thought on “Senden shows patience to regain lead at Australian Open

  • It’s going to be an interesting final round with quite a few players with a chance of victory.

    John Senden went close last year and will no doubt be trying to go one better in 2012.

    Hoping Adam Scott makes a change on day four!

    Reply

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