Wilson takes lead in Shanghai and heads back out
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Britain's Oliver Wilson held a one-stroke lead after the third round of the HSBC Champions on Sunday before heading straight back out to start his final round at the rain-disrupted tournament.
Wilson, who made his Ryder Cup debut this year but is still seeking his first European tour title, hit four birdies and a bogey in windy conditions for a three-under-par 69 to move to 12 under.
Australian former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy was in second after carding a 70 to move to 11 under, a stroke ahead of Sergio Garcia, defending champion Phil Mickelson and Swede Henrik Stenson.
After losing all of Friday and three hours of Saturday to wet weather, the players will play as many holes as possible in their fourth rounds on Sunday afternoon before returning to finish the $5 million tournament on Monday morning.
"I'm very pleased with the position, being in the lead is the place to be," said Wilson, who was second four times in the 2008 European Tour season.
"I'm getting closer and at least I'm leading after Sunday afternoon. I just have to get a tournament that finishes on Sunday as well."
FIVE BIRDIES
Ogilvy had started his third round with a bogey as the darkness descended on Saturday evening but parred the rest of his front nine before snaring five birdies and a couple of bogeys on his way back to the clubhouse.
"We saw the sun shine this morning, first time in a few days, so all in all it was quite nice out there," said the 31-year-old. "A bit blustery but the sun shining puts you in a better mood than playing in the dark, that's for sure."
Garcia, who shared the overnight lead with Stenson and is aiming to overhaul Mickelson as world number two this weekend, made a steady start to his third round by picking up a couple of birdies on the front nine to top the leaderboard.
The Spaniard missed a four-foot par putt at the 11th green to drop his first shot of the week and had two more with only a single birdie to finish par-72.
"I just played poorly the last eight holes," he said. "That's pretty much it. It's a shame because the way we were going, we could have finished probably 12, 13 under quite easily, and we're at 10, but the good thing is we still have a chance."
American Mickelson made an impressive start with three successive birdies from the second but ended up with a 70 to move to 10-under alongside his rankings rival and Stenson, who shot a 72.
"I would love to try and defend my title, and getting in position within two shots of the lead is a good start," said Mickelson.
American Anthony Kim was disqualified after breaking the rules by using a driver which had been damaged on a sprinkler head.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
