NGC Rd 3: Wang tames the 'Green Monster'

As many players struggled in swirling winds, the 21 year old from South Korea has moved to 11 under par and an advantage of three shots,

He made six birdies and an eagle in a flawless performance on an unusually windy day at Gary Play Country Club to pull three clear of local favourite Louis Oosthuizen, who stumbled down the stretch with a bogey-bogey finish on his way to a two-under 70.

“It’s really hard condition today,” Jeunghun said. “It was really hard to shoot – I think four-under is really hard to shoot. I shoot eight-under on this course in this wind, I still cannot believe it. When I start, I try to make only par. Like try to hit one-under, two-under. I keep trying to make par and birdies. So it’s lucky.”

His eagle came on the 10^th, and it was very nearly an albatross as his second shot on the par-five settled down three feet from the hole. And he suggested that even that was lucky. “I saw my shot on the leader board screen, it was really lucky,” he said. “I hit the rough twice and then kicked right and almost hit the hole. Lucky day today.”

Behind him, Oosthuizen looked for all the world as if he was going to sail serenely into at least a share of the lead, if not the outright lead, after he negotiated the opening nine in level par. 

After the turn he switched on the afterburners, making birdies at 10, 13, 15 and 16 – the birdie on 16 was so nearly an ace – to share the lead briefly with Jeunghun before the Korean birdied the last to go to 11-under.

Then Oosthuizen’s fortunes turned, and an over-hit approach on 17 – caused by the wind, as much as anything – saw him miss his return putt to make bogey there. And, on 18, he missed a three-footer for par after making putts of that length with no difficulty all day.

“I can’t really look at the last two greens,” he said. “I got the pace on both of the first putts wrong. It’s not nice finishing like that, but I’m hitting it well. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

To get a sense of how good Jeunghun’s round was in the circumstances, it’s instructive that the next-best score came from a struggling Masters champion Danny Willett, who managed to cobble together a five-under 67 to resurrect his fortunes after a poor start to the tournament.

Branden Grace, who carded a one-under 71 to be in a share of fourth, six strokes off the lead, was impressed with Jeunghun’s play. “That’s remarkable in a place like this, on a day like today,” he said. “That’s what I need tomorrow, I suppose. At least you know it’s out there and you can do it. Nice to see it.”

For Jeunghun, the final round is all about doing the same as he did in the third. “Just I don’t want to think about any win,” he said. “I just want to focus on the last 18 holes. I just try to do same as today. I always eat hamburgers before I play, like three days in a row already. So maybe tonight also I’m going to have hamburger.”