Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman fired a three-under-par 69 on day three of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to take a one stroke lead over Korean Jeunghun Wang into the final day.
Rahman sits on seven-under-par for the tournament after rounds of 68, 72 and 69 and the Bangladeshi says he is embracing the windy conditions around the Ernie Els designed course.
‘I really enjoyed my round today. It was a very special day for me. I hit some great shots out there, especially on the 16 which was awesome for me. I have been driving the ball really solid this week. It’s a new driver in the bag. I am hitting it straighter and longer,’ he said.
Playing in the final group is something Rahman hasn’t experienced before, and his string of good rounds has allowed him to experience the pressures that come with leading a tri-sanctioned event.
‘I am very inspired to play tomorrow now that I am in the lead. I won’t put pressure on myself. I am very excited and I will try to enjoy myself tomorrow. One more day to go. Nothing’s going to change. I just try and play the same way as I did for the last few days. I am looking forward to playing in the leader group again tomorrow,’ he said.
Wang, who won last week’s Trophee Hassan II on the European Tour, battled through the challenging conditions to card a one-under-par 71.
‘Today was even windier than yesterday and it’s really difficult to putt – especially on short putts. I didn’t miss many though, and I’m playing okay, so I’m happy with one under. I made some great par saves today and I’m really pleased with my chipping and putting. It wasn’t a great with my irons or my driver today, so my short game really saved the round,’ explained Wang.
Hoping to earn back-to-back victories on the European Tour, the Korean says he doesn’t want to put pressure on himself by thinking about winning.
‘Last week I didn’t think about winning and it happened, so this week I don’t want to think about winning. I’m just taking it one shot at a time and hoping that adds up to a good score. I’ve taken a lot of confidence from last week, though, and the experience really helps me,’ Wang explained.
Brandon Stone carded the round of the day, firing an impressive four-under-par 68 that leaves him as the highest placed South African on the leaderboard.
‘Four-under-par today is something worth smiling about. I think the breeze we got out there the first few holes was the slowest we’ve had it all week. It was probably around 25 kilometres per hour, which is by far the least we’ve had,’ said Stone.
Overnight leadrer Andrew Dodt had a back nine to forget, as the Australian carded a seven-over-par 43 on the homeward nine, leaving him on three-under-par for the tournament, tied third with Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.
Oliver Bekker and Jaco Ahlers form part of the top 10 on one-over-par for the tournament after carding rounds of 73 and 74 respectively.
From sunshinetour.com
