Howell loses top spot
David Howell’s grip on pole position at the TCL Classic on the Chinese resort island of Hainan slipped as the Englishman was overtaken during the third round.
Sweden’s Johan Edfors and Andrew Buckle of Australia leapfrogged over Howell - the overnight leader at 17 under par for the first two rounds – to set up an interesting finish to the event.
After tearing up the course on the opening two days with rounds of 64 and 63, Howell looked set to run away with the title and the top prize but a conservative outward nine allowed the rest of the field to close the gap.
Edfors, who started the day five shots behind Howell, was in blistering form on a course that again permitted low scoring, and with three holes to play the Swede was 20 under for the tournament and eight under for the day.
Buckle joined the Swede on 20 under having picked up five shots over the first 11 holes, overtaking his playing partner Howell in the process.
Howell started his round well with a birdie at the par-five first hole but then had to wait until the eighth before picking up another shot and he reached the turn in 34.
Jeev Milkha Singh hauled himself into contention, the Indian golfer filling fourth position after picking up six shots over 14 holes to sit on 18 under while Nick Dougherty’s form improved as he moved to within three of the lead.
Last year’s runner-up Irish Paul McGinley finished on 14 under for the three rounds with a round of 68 that featured six birdies and two bogies, while defending champion Paul Casey was on the same score with two holes to play.
Taiwan duo Lin Keng-Chi and Lu Wen Teh were the clubhouse leaders along with India’s Gaurav Ghei, the trio all finishing on 15 under par for their first three rounds.
