Prom Meesawat of Thailand managed the course conditions superbly to card a round-three 67 and grab the number one seed at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth on Saturday.
Prom carded seven birdies against two bogeys to return with a 12-under-par 204 total at Lake Karrinyup Country Club. He finished two shots ahead of the rest of the field. The burly Thai golfer, along with seven others in the top eight, will go into the second round of the knockout matchplay on Sunday.
Sean Crocker of the United States carded a 67, while Lucas Herbert of Australia and Thorbjorn Olesen carded matching 69s to finish in tied-second.
The leading 24 players after three rounds will qualify for the six-hole knockout matchplay.
Other Asian Tour members who progressed to the knockout matchplay include Thais Pavit Tangkamolprasert (69), Poom Saksansin (67) and Kiradech Aphibarnrat (72) as well as Yi-keun Chang (71) from Korea.
Poom, Kiradech and Chang, qualified for Sunday via a play-off where nine players, who all finished in tied-17th, vied for eight spots. Australia’s Anthony Quayle was eliminated after a titanic battle with Kiradech that stretched to four play-off holes.
Defending champion Brett Rumford and England’s Lee Westwood failed to secure spots in the knockout matchplay after carding matching 78s.
Did you know:
- Prom Meesawat is nicknamed “The Big Dolphin” because of his physique and that he hails from Hua Hin, a coastal town in Thailand.
- He found 13 out of 14 fairways, and hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation in round three.
- His last matchplay experience in his professional career was in 2007, in a team event that pit Asian golfers against their European counterparts.
- A$50,000 in prize money is allocated to the top three players after 54 holes.
- The top eight players will go to the second round of the knockout matchplay.
- The remaining 16 players will be randomly paired and will play the first round of knockout matchplay.
- Knockout matches on Sunday will be played on the 10th hole (par four), 11th hole (par five), 13th hole (par four), 14th hole (par four), 12th hole (par three), 18th hole (par four).
- Any matches tied after six holes will proceed to the “shootout hole”, which will utilize the 18th hole and played from a new tee box located 80-90m from the green.
Players’ Quotes:
Prom Meesawat (Tha), Third Round 67 (-5), Total 204 (-12)
I’m very happy with my round. I finished first, but you’ll never know what will happen tomorrow as it is going to be matchplay. So, I’m going to try my best. I’ve been playing well over the last three days. I hope that I can bring my good form to Sunday.
I managed the golf course well and I aimed to get my ball into good positions at every hole. I played in a matchplay event a long time ago and I think the knockout rounds will be fun. Before the tournament, I didn’t expect to be in the top three. I was just happy to be in the top 24. So, in any case, I’ll just go out and enjoy the experience.
If I can win the tournament tomorrow, it’s going to be very nice as it’ll be my first European Tour win.
I’ve got a good chance. Like what I said, in matchplay, anything can happen. Last year, Rummy (Brett Rumford) knocked everyone out and won the tournament. I’m going to try to be like Rummy. Finish the stroke play rounds in first place, and then win the tournament.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert (Tha), Third Round 69 (-3), Total 210 (-6)
I started my round badly, as I double bogeyed the second. Then I sunk a birdie at the seventh, which was my turning point of the round. I also birdied the eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th. I got into a rhythm. I understood the greens a lot more after playing the first two rounds.
I’m always relaxed, be in stroke play or matchplay. Even if I’m paired with top players, I won’t be too bothered. It’s only six holes and anything can happen.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Third Round 72 (even par), Total 211 (-5)
I’ve been struggling with my putts all day. I three putted on 14th, and four putted on the 15th. Before those holes, I was easily in the top eight. I’ve made bad mistakes. Even par is not good enough actually, but it was just enough to get me into the knockout matchplay.
I feel good when I bounce back from a bad hole. But, I was struggling with the wind here and I didn’t bring my ‘A’ game. I’m usually good with my iron play, but not so much at this tournament.
I’ll have to work on my swing. Despite what happened over the first three rounds, I still believe my game is good enough to win the tournament.
Yi-keun Chang (Kor), Third Round 71 (-1), Total 211 (-5)
I knew that I had to start aggressively as the front nine wasn’t windy. But I only made one birdie. I thought I had to make six or seven to make it to the top 24. I hit it good on 15th to about six feet. I made the eagle putt to be seven-under-par. But, I made a few mistakes on 16th and 18th, which led to bogeys.
There are only six holes tomorrow. You just have to start well and not make mistakes. I’ll try to make birdies early one.
Poom Saksanin (Tha), Third Round 67 (-5), Total 211 (-5)
I putted really well today. Some, I didn’t expect to go in, but they did. I sunk some a long one at the 17th. My iron play is very good too, especially my long irons.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, this will be my first time playing in the six-hole matchplay. I don’t know what to expect, but I’ll be aggressive from the start.
Scores after round 3 of the ISPS HANDA WORLD SUPER 6 PERTH being played at the par 72, 7143 Yards Lake Karrinyup GC course (am – denotes amateur):
204 – Prom Meesawat (THA) 67-70-67.
206 – Sean Crocker (USA) 70-69-67, Lucas Herbert (AUS) 68-69-69, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 70-67-69.
208 – Dimitrios Papadatos (AUS) 69-73-66, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 69-72-67, Yusaku Miyazato (JPN) 70-70-68, Sam Horsfield (ENG) 68-72-68.
209 – Marcus Fraser (AUS) 68-74-67, Grant Forrest (SCO) 69-68-72.
210 – Matthew Millar (AUS) 73-70-67, James Nitties (AUS) 66-76-68, Ben Eccles (AUS) 72-69-69, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 70-71-69, Nick Cullen (AUS) 72-68-70, Min Woo Lee (am, AUS) 69-70-71.
211 – Callan O’Reilly (AUS) 72-71-68, Stephen Leaney (AUS) 69-72-70, Poom Saksansin (THA) 71-73-67, Satoshi Kodaira (JPN) 70-71-70, Yi-keun Chang (KOR) 67-73-71, Andrea Pavan (ITA) 73-66-72, Zander Lombard (RSA) 68-70-73, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 67-72-72, Anthony Quayle (AUS) 71-68-72.
212 – Ryan Fox (NZL) 70-73-69, Aaron Rai (ENG) 71-73-68, David Bransdon (AUS) 71-70-71, Jason Scrivener (AUS) 67-73-72, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 67-73-72, Johan Edfors (SWE) 71-73-68, Scott Vincent (ZIM) 73-71-68.
