DOHA – Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn produced a fluent six-under-par 66 to take a one-shot lead over Austrian Markus Brier after the third round of the 2.5-million-dollar Qatar Masters on Saturday. Veteran Bjorn, who was in joint-third position overnight, finished Saturday’s round with a sensational hat-trick of birdies starting on the 16th hole to set himself up for a tilt at an 11th European Tour title.
Bjorn, who won the Portuguese Open last year to claim his first title in four years, took advantage of two bogeys by Brier to post a total of 205. Swede Robert Karlsson, the defending champion, was in third spot, three shots behind on 208, while South African Thomas Aiken occupied fourth position on 209. Former winner Alvaro Quioros of Spain and England’s Richard Finch were a further shot back on 210.
Bjorn spent four winless years on the European Tour after his victory at the Irish Open in 2006, but his sensational five-shot win in Portugal last year not only revived his career but also helped him become one of Colin Montgomeries’s vice-captains for the Ryder Cup campaign.
“Yeah, it was pretty solid. I didn’t drive the ball particularly well early on and decided to just get the ball on the greens and succeeded in doing that,” said Bjorn. “But when you finish a round with four birdies in the last five, you have to walk off very happy. I played fantastic yesterday to shoot that 65 and felt comfortable this morning and felt good with the way my golf is.
“I’m feeling quite comfortable on the golf course, considering it’s been a while since I’ve been in that kind of situation. So I’m pleased with the way the day panned out.” Defending champion Karlsson registered a bogey and a double bogey over the first nine holes, but managed to revive his fortunes over the back nine with five birdies. “I was very, very proud of the way I managed to turn it around,” said the Swede.
“I hit a few good shots on the way in and managed to get the putter going. It’s that kind of golf course.” South African Darren Fichardt, who was in second spot after the second round, slipped down to a tie for 11th position, after four bogeys ruined his third round.
Meanwhile, Martin Kaymer, who was afforded a slim chance of becoming the new world number one after Lee Westwood failed to make the half-way cut, shot a four-under-par 68 for an aggregate score of 215. But his first-round score of 77 meant he barely managed to make the cut, and with Bjorn leading him by 10 shots, he will have to wait a little longer if he is to become only the second German to top the world rankings after veteran Bernhard Langer.
