Beau Champ, Mauritius, November 27: Justin Harding of South Africa is banking on his blistering form this season to reverse his fortunes at the €1 million (approximately US$1.14 million) AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open which tees off on Thursday.

The South African has been resplendent in 2018, having notched five top-10s including two victories in his last nine starts on the Asian Tour. He is placed third on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings and he is the highest-ranked player in the field.

Like Harding, Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva and Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski have made their career breakthrough on the Asian Tour this year.

Adilson Da Silva of Brazil

Da Silva had a wretched start to the season, as he did not progress to the weekend rounds in his first six tournaments. However, his season turned around in a big way when he emerged victorious in Chinese Taipei two months ago.

Lifted by his recent victory, the Brazilian is raring to bring his momentum to Mauritius.

Kokocinski was making significant headway on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) at the start of this year. He seized his chances when he was given the opportunity to play an Asian Tour event in Bangladesh and went on to win the tournament by three shots.

The Swede has admitted that his game has not been up to scratch since his victory, but he feels that he is slowly rediscovering the form and he hopes for another breakthrough at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

Did you know:

• Justin Harding received an invitation to play at the Indonesia Open by virtue of his good form on the Sunshine Tour. He went on to win the tournament and took up Asian Tour membership.
• A fortnight later, he won the Royal Cup, becoming the first player on Tour to win twice in his first two starts in Asia.
• In addition to two victories, Harding has also notched three top-10s this season.  He was second at the Asia Pacific Diamond Cup, tied-fourth at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters and 10th at the Yeangder TPC.
• Adilson Da Silva is the first Brazilian to win on the Asian Tour.
• Before his win in Chinese Taipei, Da Silva has made only three cuts in 11 starts this season. He started the season with six consecutive missed cuts before claiming a tied-ninth place result at the Asia Pacific Diamond Cup
• Da Silva was given the honour of striking the first tee shot at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when golf made a return into the programme after 112 years.
• Malcolm Kokocinski was leading the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit before his victory at the Bangladesh Open this year.
• He is the second Swede to win on the Asian Tour this season after Alexander Bjork at the Volvo China Open
• Kokocinski’s best finish on the Asian Tour, prior to his breakthrough win, came at the 2016 Shinhan Donghae Open where he came in tied-fourth.

Players’ Quotes

Justin Hardin (Rsa)

Anahita is very wind dependent. The last time I played there, the winds were blowing at 65km/h and I was nearly blown off the golf course! It’s a long golf course and if the wind picks up, it will be very challenging.

It’s a nice week; you get hosted very nicely and it’s an awesome resort. It’s almost like a reward getting into the event. We always look forward to playing in Mauritius.

The guys on the Sunshine Tour will be gunning for my number one spot on the Order of Merit and it’s very important that I play well here. It’s an added bonus that the event is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour so I’ll also improve my position on the Habitat for Humanity Standings if I do well.

[When asked about his happiest memories in Mauritius] It’s funny you asked that because I missed the cut there for the past three years! I hope to bring this year’s performances with me to Mauritius. The winds blew a country mile previously and it was hard work for me. With a bit of luck, it won’t get too bad. I have a couple of things to work on before I get but nevertheless, it’s an awesome event and I’m looking forward to it.

Adilson Da Silva (Bra)

I look forward to playing in Mauritius. The last time I played on Anahita was in 2016. The wind was blowing the whole week, which was actually nice in my opinion. The conditions make you think about your tee shots. It’s a long course and you need to keep the ball in play. Mauritius is a beautiful place to go and a great golf destination.

It’s great to be the first Brazilian to win on Tour and I hope to win again soon. We’re going into final stretch of the season; I’m telling myself to take it one shot at a time and to stay patient. Sometimes, there’s a tendency to get ahead of yourself.

Malcolm Kokocinski (Swe)

This will be my first year in Mauritius and I’m very excited to have to chance to compete here. I haven’t played at the Anahita before but I’ve heard from other players that the course is very beautiful and it gets tricky when the wind picks up.

Winning on Tour has been brilliant so far. I can get to play on many new courses, including the one here at the Mauritius Open. I feel like I’m learning more, and I want to learn as much as possible in preparation for next year and beyond.

I have to admit that I haven’t been playing well after the win in Bangladesh. I’ve struggled a bit but I’ve been playing better recently. I’ll keep practising and stay patient.

Bangkok, Thailand, November 27: Korea’s Sanghyun Park will continue his chase for the coveted Asian Tour Merit crown when he tees off at the Queen’s Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation on Thursday.

Placed second on the Habitat for Humanity standings, Park is looking forward to close the gap on leader, Shubhankar Sharma of India, who has opted not to play this week, with a fine showing in the US$500,000 event held at the highly-rated Legacy Golf Club.

With only three events left to play on the schedule and a winner’s prize purse of US$90,000 on offer this week, Park will have everything to play for when he makes his debut appearance at the event which will be hosted by Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee.

While the battle for the prestigious Merit crown continues this week, the spotlight will also fall on players vying to finish inside the top-60 on the money list to retain their playing rights for the next season.

The 35-year-old Korean will spearhead a star-studded 132-men field with no fewer than 30 Asian Tour winners, including defending champion Jazz Janewattanond, who won in July for his second Asian Tour title.

Jazz, who turned 23 on Monday, hopes to make up for the disappointment of missing the cut in Hong Kong last week by putting up a strong title defence worthy of his status as the rising star from the country, albeit on a different course.

Korean-American Sihwan Kim, placed eighth on the Habitat for Humanity Standings, continues to seek his Asian Tour breakthrough at the event, held in honour of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.

Kim has been knocking on the door to his maiden win all season, claiming five top-five finishes, including a tied-third result at the last edition of the Queen’s Cup.

Thongchai will assume responsibility of tournament host for the first time on the Asian Tour with the intention of drawing attention to the Jaidee Foundation, which focuses on giving back to the under-privileged golfers in his hometown.

Did you know?

• Sanghyun Park, who sits in second place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings with a current haul of US$561,898, is the highest-ranked player this week and trails leader Shubhankar Sharma by US$194,096.
• Park broke into the Asian Tour winner’s circle at the 37th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship in May after emerging victorious following a four-way play-off.
• He claimed his second victory four months later on home soil at the 34th Shinhan Donghae Open where he led from start to finish.
• Park hails from Korea but he spends close to two months of the winter season in Thailand to take advantage of the warm weather to practice.
• Jazz Janewattananond claimed his second Asian Tour title on home soil at the Queen’s Cup in July that was held at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club for the first time.
• The Thai has enjoyed one win and three top-10 finishes and has only missed two cuts in his last eight appearances at the Queen’s Cup.
• Jazz has successfully defended his title before on the All Thailand Golf Tour in 2017, but this week will be the first time he will defend a title on the region’s premier Tour.
• Sihwan Kim sits in eighth place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings with a current haul of US$362,883.
• Kim came through Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2017 and kept his card for the 2018 season after finishing in 55th place on the Merit standings.
• Playing in only his second season on Tour, he has already claimed five top-five finishes this year including a runner-up finish in Chinese Taipei in October.

Players’ Quotes:

Sanghyun Park (Kor)

I love Thailand very much and conditions are great this week so I am hoping for a good showing. Two more games for me this season and I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself and I just want to do my best.

Last week in Hong Kong was unfortunate for me but I look at it as a week off golf to just recuperate and get some rest. My travel plans have been so hectic so it was nice to get a bit of a break. This has been a great season for me with two wins in a single season. I just want to end the year on a good note and overtaking the top spot will be a nice bonus. Right now, I am 118th on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) so my main goal for the next two events is to improve on that and get myself inside the top-100.

Sihwan Kim (Usa)

I am pretty satisfied with how my season has been going, hopefully I can finish on a good note. Two more tournaments till the end of the season and I am going to very aggressive. I have had enough top-five finishes this year that has put me in a good position on the Habitat for Humanity Standings. I have come close so many times this season and I really just need a win to end the season well.

I played alright last week but I struggled to finish well on the last day. I am playing good but I just need to start make some putts. Honestly, I am feeling pretty tired towards the end of the season and have been playing a lot of golf so I just need to keep my momentum going.

It is my third time in Thailand this year and I finished well at the Queen’s cup in July. I’m really just going to focus on my putting this week especially inside 10-feet. If I make some putts here, I know it will be a good week for me.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha)

It is my first time defending a title on the Asian Tour. It is a pretty weird feeling because this is a new golf course and I have never played on this course before. A lot of Thai golfers have an advantage this week because I know a lot of Thais practice here. It is good that this event is being held here so it gives a lot of the local boys a bit of an advantage to try and keep their cards for next year.

This is a pretty scorable golf course, right in the middle of the city. The conditions are great and I think the key for this week will come down to putting.

I went to see my coach a couple of weeks back and have been making a lot of changes. Honestly last week I was just too focused on my swing changes and trying to settle into my new swing. I understand that practice takes time and tournament golf is the best practice you can have. So, I won’t put too much pressure on myself this week and follow the plan I have set for myself.

Melbourne, November 25: Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry lifted the first title for Belgium after cruising to a three-shot victory while Korea emerged as the best-placed Asian team in tied-sixth position at the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf on Sunday.

Childhood friends Pieters and Detry, who started the day with a five-shot advantage, continued their formidable partnership as they closed with a four-under-par 68 in the final round foursomes to cap a winning total of 23-under-par 265 at The Metropolitan Golf Club.

The talented duo fended off fast-charging Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith of host nation Australia, who carded a second straight 65 to share second place with Mexicans Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz, who fired three birdies in their closing five holes for a commendable 66.

Korean talents Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim settled six shots back of Team Belgium following a battling 70 while India’s Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar matched the day’s efforts of Team Korea to settle for a share of 10th place at the prestigious US$7 million event.

Team China’s Li Haotong and Wu Ashun closed with a 67 to take 13th place on 277 while Thai duo Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Prom Meesawat marked their best round of the week with a 66 to finish a further shot back in tied-14th.

Malaysia’s Ben Leong and Gavin Green slipped to 22nd place following a disappointing 74 while Hideto Tanihara and Satoshi Kodaira took 23rd place for Japan after posting a 72.

Did you know?

• Team Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry would each take home a winner’s prize purse of US$1,120,000 following their victory.
• Belgium became the 17th different country to win the World Cup of Golf and the eighth European country to win in the last 10 editions of the event.
• They carded matching rounds of 63s in both the fourball matches on Thursday and Saturday.
• After dropping a shot on second, Pieters and Detry bounced back with an eagle on fourth before adding two birdies to turn in 33. They went on to trade four birdies against three bogeys on their way home to seal the victory.
• Pieters played his second World Cup of Golf this week while Detry made his debut.
• They were former teammates at the University of Illinois. Pieters is 26 years old while Detry is 25.
• Team Korea of Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim dropped a shot on the third but bounced back brilliantly with an eagle on the next before adding two more birdies to turn in 33. They would dropped another shot on their way home to sign for a 70 and grab a share of sixth place.
• An and Kim, who averaged 25 years old, is the youngest pair amongst the six two-man Asian teams in the 28-nation team competition. Byeonghun An is 27 years old while Siwoo Kim is 23.
• An, highest-ranked player from Korea, is a one-time winner on the European Tour while Kim has won twice on the PGA Tour. Kim is the first player from Asia to win twice on the PGA Tour before the age of 23.
• Best result by a Korean team at the World Cup of Golf remains the fifth place finish in 1971 (Chang Sang Hahn / Seung Hak Kim) and 1982 (Chang Sang Hahn / Sang Ho Choi).
• Team India of Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar nailed five birdies against three bogeys for their closing round of 70.
• They hold a combined total of 16 victories on the Asian Tour, which includes three co-sanctioned wins on the European Tour.
• Lahiri, now a regular player on the PGA Tour, is a two-time International team member of the Presidents Cup. He is also the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2015.
• Lahiri, 31, and Bhullar, 30, have represented India together in numerous team competitions since their amateur days. They featured in the Eisenhower Cup, Nomura Cup and Asian Games, delivering a team silver in 2006, before venturing almost at the same time into the play-for-pay ranks where they also represented Team Asia in the inaugural EurAsia Cup in 2013.
• Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa’s ninth-place finish in Portugal in 2005 remains India’s best result in the prestigious event.

Players’ quotes:

Thomas Pieters (Bel)

It feels very good. It’s not something you put on your list when you’re a golfer, but, you know, I felt it this morning and I felt it while we were playing, it’s just excitement and a bit nervous. I told my mom and dad it’s been a long time since I won and this feels as good as an individual title. I’m very, very happy.

I told him on 18 when he hit that drive, I said that’s a drive of somebody that’s going to win next year, for sure. To hit a drive like that, I can tell how much adrenaline was going through his body by how far it went.

I think we’ll take a lot of confidence out of this. It’s a shame the season’s over for me now. I felt like I played really good today and both of us we played really good. Sometimes we felt the guys coming, Australia coming right behind us and we answered it with a birdie, so I think we handled the situation very well.

I told Thomas yesterday, “Let’s play like we’re two behind.”  You do that in match play any time, I think you play against somebody else. It’s just the same as the second day. I told him, you know you’re going to make a couple of bogeys, but we’ll make a lot of birdies as well just because the weather was nicer, the greens were a bit softer as well. Not much strategy‑wise we changed or nothing, no.

Bringing this thing back home, I think it will change a bit how kids look at it and they’ll have something to look up to. We had Nicolas Colsaerts to look up to. We never really got in touch with him when we were younger and I think we would have loved it.

He maybe because he had the same coach, but for me it would have been amazing to see him play.  In a couple weeks we’re doing a day with all the juniors back home and for me it’s fun to do that because I know how much I would have loved it, so that’s why we do it.

Thomas Detry (Bel)

We weren’t far away in the soccer World Cup, so it’s pretty good to bring it back. Like Thomas said, it’s not really something you put on the list, but when it happens, you qualify for it, you play for it, you play with your best mate and it’s kind of a dream come true.

There’s nothing like representing your country on the other side of the world, it’s just amazing. Our two coaches, one of my two coaches, they both played it a long time ago, but they played it and they had an amazing experience.

Being able to put our name down the list when you see the amount of good players and all the big names that were actually on the cup, it feels pretty special. We’ve known each other since we were eight or nine years old. We used to play those junior events back home.

We kind of grew up together playing regionals, practices together, and then national team together under 18, and then he went to college, he went to America and I followed him. We know each other pretty well and we’ve never got sick of each other, I guess.  Well, maybe a few times, I don’t know maybe.

It’s a dream come true to play with him.  He’s got a lot of experience, and yeah, it was very comfortable to play with a guy like that.

We tried to keep it easy, just fairways and greens. It’s such a tough format.  It can be an easy format when things go well, but I think if things go wrong, it can be really hard to find some confidence and get some momentum back.

Like this week he was hitting a lot of long shots and I wasn’t really hitting that many long shots. I think I hit two drivers today, second one was on 18, so it’s really not that many tee shots. So you’ve got to find the right balance and try to build up on that and get some confidence back on the course, it’s not easy.

Byeonghun An (Kor)

It was just close. We really didn’t have much of birdie chances today.  I think my shot wasn’t that sharp, I guess, compared to the first two rounds so didn’t really have much of a birdie chance.  The par-fives were the only chances we had.

Overall, it’s been a decent week. I think there are a lot of great teams out there and to finish inside top‑10 is quite nice. We obviously wanted to do better, but it’s golf, we just didn’t have the best day.

It’s definitely a better experience than the last time I played the World Cup. I played better and he played pretty good this week as well. A little disadvantage having different balls, I guess, whereas other guys have a similar golf ball.

That’s why I struggled with the short game a little bit this week. It’s a disadvantage, but we did pretty well, considering that. Hopefully, I’ll be able to represent my country again in two years’ time.

Siwoo Kim (Kor)

We did pretty good to finish inside top‑10. We didn’t manage to give ourselves a lot of chances today but overall, it’s a good week. This is my last event of the year. I’m looking forward to getting some good rest before the next season starts.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind)

Anirban’s our star man today, he was full of energy. I mean, I was, too, I thought so, but he woke me up on the sixth hole and I think before that I was kind of lazy, a lot of lazy swings. But thanks to Anirban, he was the one who was helping the scores.

Other than that, I think pretty disappointed with our finish although things started to get better on the back nine.  I had a few good shots and Anirban, of course, holed a lot of good putts.

It was just towards the end there that we were expecting a few more birdies. I mean, it happens in this kind of format, it’s not easy.

Anirban Lahiri (Ind)

If I were to sum it up, it’s been a bad weekend. I think we played really well Thursday, Friday without a doubt, a lot of positives there. Yesterday really was the day that both of us played quite poorly, and yesterday was the day that we kind of got ourselves out of contention. The effort was there.

Today we both came out and we wanted to go low. The golf course is set up for scoring, quite different from Friday. But sometimes in foursomes, you know, if you’re not both on top of your A‑game, you’re not going to shoot those really low scores.

I think we both really enjoyed ourselves.  We gelled together really well.  We were talking about it, it’s been maybe four or five years since the Eurasia Cup that we teamed last time, so it was a good reunion.  I think we enjoyed ourselves.

Definitely feel like we let it get away from us on the weekend. We should have at least been in there with an outside chance today and we weren’t, so that’s where the disappointment is.

I’m going to go home for a couple of weeks and I’ll play the Indonesian Masters. I’m looking forward to, you know, coming back and playing on the Asian Tour. It’s been a long time. That will be my last event of the year.

Melbourne, November 24: Korea’s Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim remained in the hunt for their country’s first ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf title after battling to a four-under-par 68 in the penultimate round’s fourball match on Saturday.

An and Kim fired an eagle and four birdies against two bogeys to trail by five shots in second place alongside Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz of Mexico (65) and Italy’s (66) Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore.

It was Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry who pulled away from the chasing pack after signing for a commanding 63 and a three-day total of 19-under-par 197 at The Metropolitan Golf Club. They had held a share of the overnight two-shot lead with Korea.

Indian duo Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar, who started the round in tied-third place, conceded they failed to produce their A-games after posting a two-under-par 70. They slipped nine shots off the pace to tie in 11th position at the prestigious US$7 million event.

Despite struggling to keep their momentum going, Malaysia’s Gavin Green and Ben Leong held their heads up as they signed for a 72 to settle for tied-15th place on 208.

The 56-man field from 28 countries, including six Asian nations, is vying to hoist the famous trophy in the event, won previously by many legends of the games.

The tournament will switch back to foursomes format for the all-important final round on Sunday.

Did you know?

• Team Korea of Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim fired an eagle and four birdies against two bogeys for a round of 68. An contributed the eagle on 16th after sinking an uphill putt from about 60 feet.
• An and Kim, who averaged 25 years old, is the youngest pair amongst the six two-man Asian teams in the 28-nation team competition. Byeonghun An is 27 years old while Siwoo Kim is 23.
• An, highest-ranked player from Korea, is a one-time winner on the European Tour while Kim has won twice on the PGA Tour. Kim is the first player from Asia to win twice on the PGA Tour before the age of 23.
• An is making his second appearance in the World Cup of Golf while Kim is playing for the first time in his career.
• Best results by a Korean team at the World Cup of Golf is fifth place in 1971 (Chang Sang Hahn / Seung Hak Kim) and 1982 (Chang Sang Hahn / Sang Ho Choi)
• Team India of Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar traded five birdies against three bogeys for a battling round of 70 in the fourball match on Saturday. Lahiri contributed three birdies while Bhullar made two for the team. Lahiri and Bhullar each dropped a shot on the third and 17th respectively.
• They hold a combined total of 16 victories on the Asian Tour, which includes three co-sanctioned wins on the European Tour.
• Lahiri, now a regular player on the PGA Tour, is a two-time International team member of the Presidents Cup. He is also the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2015.
• Lahiri, 31, and Bhullar, 30, have represented India together in numerous team competitions since their amateur days. They featured in the Eisenhower Cup, Nomura Cup and Asian Games, delivering a team silver in 2006, before venturing almost at the same time into the play-for-pay ranks where they also represented Team Asia in the inaugural EurAsia Cup in 2013.
• India’s best finish of ninth place in the event was achieved by Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa in Portugal in 2005.
• Team Malaysia of Ben Leong and Gavin Green returned with a round of three birdies against an equal number of bogeys. They had carded a commendable 63 in the four-ball opening round on Thursday.
• Malaysia’s best finish was in 1994 when M. Ramayah and the late P. Gunasegaran emerged ninth in Puerto Rico while at the 2016 World Cup in Melbourne, Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung ended up joint 22nd.
• Leong won his first Asian Tour title in 2008 before suffering from a disc prolapse in 2012. He has shown signs of returning to his best form in the last few years. Leong, a two-time Asian Development Tour (ADT) winner, has claimed two top-10s on the Asian Tour so far this season.
• Green, who claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory in Chinese Taipei last year, became the first Malaysian to lift the Asian Tour Order of Merit trophy in 2017.
• Green played his way onto the main Tour from the ADT, where he has won on three occasions. He finished second on the 2016 ADT Order of Merit to earn his Asian Tour card for 2017.

Players’ quotes:

Byeonghun An (Kor)

We struggled all day so it was fun to get that eagle on 16. There aren’t many birdies and we weren’t making any putts.

He didn’t hit it so close on that hole but somehow made a two‑putt from there, and my eagle putt wasn’t the easiest because it was an uphill putt and quite long, probably 60 feet. Making that definitely was my only highlight of the day and that really helps.

Bogey on 17 kind of hurts a little bit, but bouncing back with a birdie on 18 definitely keeps the momentum going. I had a good shot into it and Siwoo made a great putt, so we just got to keep this momentum going tomorrow.

We played well in the foursomes under tough conditions yesterday.  He seems to play better when he’s under pressure.  He had some great drives yesterday with the tough conditions.

As long as we keep driving like we did today and hopefully the putter gets hot, I think we’ll score some low scores.  I’ll try to give plenty of birdie chances for him tomorrow, that’s my goal.

It would be unbelievable if we can pull it off tomorrow. We are five shots back, and if we finish second we will be very happy, first of all, to be realistic because we saw them (Team Belgium) play today and it was flawless.

They seem like good teammates.  You never know what’s going to happen. I think if it was a four‑ball tomorrow I think it would be a little tougher, but foursomes, you don’t know what’s going to happen.

We definitely need our best golf, and to win it, win will be great definitely, representing your country.  It’s not going to be easy, but lifting the trophy definitely will be a bonus in my career, that’s for sure.

Siwoo Kim (Kor)

He gave me less pressure today. He tapped it in for birdie on the last which was good. On the 16th hole, we needed a birdie but he made that eagle.

There are a lot of good teams but I think it’s fine. If we play good tomorrow, we still have a chance.

Anirban Lahiri (Ind)

I think we got off to a bad start and then we recovered quite well.  I think we made like four birdies in five holes on the front nine to kind of get some momentum.  And then just around the turn I think we hit a couple of very good shots on the 11th hole but both of us caught bad breaks there and made bogey.

I think after that, given that today was a day to go low, I think it was a case of also trying a little hard and, you know, sometimes when you push hard, it pushes back. I hit a lot of bad shots and I kind of left him hanging a little bit and that adds pressure. The flow that needs to be there wasn’t there, but it’s over now so we’ve got to focus on tomorrow.

It’s going to be important tomorrow to, you know, stay focused right through the round.  I think there were times on the course that both of us lost focus a little bit, so tomorrow’s going to be a good opportunity because it’s going to be a tougher format. If we go out there and play our best, we can really pick up some ground.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind)

It was tough. I think we both didn’t play very well like we did yesterday and the day before.  There were a lot of, you know, weak links today.  I guess they were quite a few holes where we both struggled at the same time and I think in this format one needs to be in play.

But otherwise, I mean, we were very comfortable, we were riding high in confidence, but it was just like one of those days where we tried hard but nothing went inside the hole.

I think yesterday we guys were very comfortable with our game plan and we guys played really solid and the goal is just to repeat what we did and, you know, just work on a few other aspects. Obviously once we finish lunch, we’ll have all will have a chat and make a solid plan for tomorrow.

It’s a different format from what we played back in 2013 and, you know, this kind of format, I think everybody’s enjoying it.  Obviously as a team, you know, we enjoy more of this format than what we played in 2013.

It’s also been five years. We’re both now professionals for around 10 years, so we come in with a lot more experience.  I think that also makes a big difference.  We’ve played together on many teams before, including the EurAsia Cup two times.  I think that’s definitely been an added advantage coming into this week.

Gavin Green (Mas)

It was just frustrating, couldn’t get anything going.  I guess it is what it is. For the foursomes tomorrow, we will just keep it the same as the second day and keep it in play and keep it simple. Hopefully some putts drop for us.

We didn’t drop some putts today. We just walked away with pars and I didn’t capitalize on the par 5s, so struggled there.

Ben Leong (Mas)

Made two birdies today. On the 10th hole, I had a great distance with a wedge shot from 112 yards, hit it to six feet and made the putt. On the 16th hole, I hit a good drive to the front edge of the green, chipped it to eight or nine feet and made the putt.

Ends.

Hong Kong, November 24: England’s Aaron Rai extended his overnight advantage from four to six shots by signing for a third round two-under-par 68 at the HONMA Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi on Saturday.

The 23-year-old traded four birdies against two bogeys to compile a three-day total of 16-under-par 194, a score which comfortably kept his compatriots Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick at bay at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

Fleetwood signed for a 66 while Fitzpatrick returned with a 68 to share second place on 200 total while Spain’s Sergio Garcia signed for the day’s lowest score after posting a 64 to take tied-fourth place with Australia’s Jason Scrivener.

Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee showed he still can match up against the best players from Asia and Europe despite recently turning 49.

The three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion signed for a 66 to tie France’s Victor Perez for sixth place.

With Korea’s Sanghyun Park making his early exit from the tournament, India’s Shubhankar Sharma could extend his merit lead when he returned with a 67 to share 12th place while close rival, Justin Harding of South Africa fired a 67 for tied-20th place.

Did you know?

1. Aaron Rai has won three times on the Challenge Tour and is seeking his first win on the main European Tour this week.
2. He broke the course record at the HONMA Hong Kong Open with a second round 61.
3. When Rai won the Kenya Open last year, his Kenya-born mother tearfully embraced him on the green. This was the first time his mother had returned to the country of her birth since she left it in 1970.
4. Thongchai Jaidee is regarded as one of Asia’s greatest players, thanks to an unprecedented three Order of Merit crowns and 13 career victories
5. Thongchai’s last victory came in 2016 when he won the 100th Open de France.
6. His best result this season so far has been a tied-eight finish at the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour.
7. He hit 8/14 fairways, 12/18 greens and made a total of 25 putts.
8. Shubhankar Sharma made a total of 31 putts and hit 9/14 fairways as well as 15/18 greens.
9. Sharma won his first Asian Tour title at the Joburg Open in South Africa last December and went on to claim his second victory two months later in Malaysia.
10. Sharma has played in all four Major championships this year, following the footsteps of Jeev Milkha Singh in 2007 and Anirban Lahiri in 2015 and 2016.
11. He is the youngest Indian to do so and he was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award from the President of India in September.

Players’ Quotes

Aaron Rai (Eng) Third round 68 (-2), Total 194 (-16)

Of course, nothing is ever done until it’s done, and 18 holes is a lot of golf.  So a six-shot lead, a 10-shot lead, anything can happen. You have to be aware of that.  But again, something which I felt a little bit tricky today was still being able to play in the same way but just be smart at the same time. I felt a little bit too much on the back foot. So I’ll probably go back to the hotel and think about how to approach tomorrow.

Sergio Garcia (Esp) Third round 64 (-6) Total, 200 (-9)

I got off to a great start with three birdies in a row there, on two, three and four. I had a couple of good chances on holes one and five which almost went in, and then made a little bit of a soft bogey on the next.  But you know, I played solid.  I gave myself a lot of chances.  We’re going to need a little bit of help from the leaders finishing up, but you know, at least we’re getting a little bit closer. Hopefully I can come out and get off to a good start like I did today and see how it goes.

Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) Third round 66 (-4), Total 202 (-8)

I really enjoy playing here.  This golf course is very challenging because the greens can be very tricky.  I think you have to be mentally strong on this golf course. If you make a mistake, you must bounce back quickly.  My driving has been good and I’ve finally been able to putt well.

Shubhankar Sharma (Ind) Third round 67 (-3) Total 204 (-6)

It’s not too bad, if you look at the scoreboard. But it really could have been better than this.  Yesterday I was five-under through 13 holes total for the tournament and didn’t really finish too well. Even today I felt like I left a few shots out there but six-under is still not a bad position, and a low one tomorrow can really help me. There’s obviously an opportunity to extend my merit lead. But if I just look at the tournament, I’ll take the top-10 right now.  I really want to shoot a low one tomorrow and play well tomorrow and do the right things. The Order of Merit is obviously on my mind, but we can only see what happens by the end.

Justin Harding (Rsa) Third round 67 (-3), Total 205 (-5)

It’s a big month.  It’s a big month to finish off the year on the Asian Tour.  It’s nice to have all the guys up there close, nearby.  I played with Sihwan today. He’s sitting in ninth place on the list.  He’s playing great. In fact, you have a lot of the guys that are obviously playing well, and you’ve got to think that they are going to continue to do so.  So, it’s a matter of getting the job done and doing your business and seeing if you can get lucky and maybe pass a few of them.

Beau Champ, Mauritius, November 23: Khalin Joshi of India is eyeing even more glory at the €1 million (approximately US$1.14 million) AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open that will be played from November 29 to December 2.

The 26-year-old Joshi won his maiden Asian Tour title on home soil last month. Buoyed by his recent achievement, the Bengaluru-based golfer will be brimming with confidence when he tees up at the Four Seasons Golf Club, Mauritius at Anahita next week.

On winning his first Asian Tour title, he said: “It has raised my personal expectations and reshaped my goals. I’m glad to see to see that there are big events like the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open coming up and I’m looking to finish the year strong.”

Joshi recognised his shortcomings at his previous two Mauritius Open tournaments (he missed the cut in 2016 and 2017) but this year, armed with an improved game plan and a winning mindset, he will be prepared for the challenging conditions at the wind-swept island nation.

“I haven’t had a lot of success at the Mauritius Open in the previous two years but nevertheless, it has always been one of my favourite venues on Tour. Being next to the ocean, the course condition is set to be very windy and it’ll be a great test of golf. The key is to keep the ball low, which is what I’m working on.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge. My aim is to play consistently, keep the ball in play and hopefully come Sunday, I’ll be in contention,” said Joshi.

Malcolm Kokocinski of Sweden

He will be part of an elite 156-man field that features more than 20 Asian Tour champions, including Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski and Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva, who both like Joshi, have won for the first time on Tour this season.

Joining them are this season’s multiple-time champions, South African Justin Harding and American John Catlin. They are currently ranked sixth and seventh on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings respectively.

Other notable golfers are World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els, who will be making his debut in the tournament as well as defending champion Dylan Frittelli and two-time European Tour champion, Nicolas Colsaerts.

The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, inaugurated in 2015, is the first tournament in international golf to be tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour.