Russell Knox’s showed his determination to hold on to his WGC-HSBC Champions title after he matched leader Hideki Matsuyama’s third round of 68 to stay three shots behind the Japanese World Number ten.
The Scot carded five birdies and one bogey, with a string of important par saves including after finding the water on the 14th hole, to move to 14 under par at Sheshan International Golf Club.
Matsuyama continued to set the pace on 17 under par after his fourth birdie of the day on the 18th hole sealed a bogey-free round.
Knox won the title in his first attempt 12 months ago, and he leads the European challenge once more, with American Daniel Berger in third place on 13 under par after a round of 67.
Francesco Molinari, the 2010 winner, also remains in contention after a round of 68 moved the Italian into a share of fourth place with American Bill Haas (70) on 12 under par.
Englishman Ross Fisher, who finished third last year, eagled the par four 16th hole en route to a round of 69 and he shares sixth place with Rickie Fowler, who signed for a round of 68.
Rory McIlroy nearly chipped in for eagle on the 18th hole to join the pair on ten under par, but had to settle for a birdie, and a round of 70, to sit in a six-way share of eighth place with European trio Shane Lowry (65), Thomas Pieters (66) and Henrik Stenson (67), China’s Xinjun Zhang (70) and American Matt Kuchar (68). The highlight of Kuchar’s scorecard was undoubtedly an ace on the par three 17th hole, the Ryder Cup star holing his five iron shot from 193 yards.
Hideki Matsuyama: “I’m satisfied with the round today and I’m in a good place. Hopefully we can make a run for a win tomorrow.
“I have a three-stroke lead but I can’t think about that. There are so many good players behind; I just have to worry about my own game and play one shot at a time. The way I played today, four birdies was good. I’m just glad I didn’t make any bogeys.
“There are no nerves about being in the lead, but maybe a little because I have a chance to win. I just have to go out and enjoy the day tomorrow and do my best.”
Russell Knox: “I’m not going to give up my title without a big fight tomorrow. Hideki is probably going to play similar, so I’m going to have to put the foot down, be aggressive and try to catch him. I’ll probably have to play close to the round of my life.
“I’m going to have to play excellent golf, be patient and hole some putts. It’s going to be difficult but I can’t wait for it.
“After hitting it in the water on 14, to make a massive putt for par was huge. And then of course I birdied the next, which was a massive momentum change. Those little moments are what add up in a tournament.”
Francesco Molinari: “I started where I left off yesterday with good putts at the first and the third. Then the birdies stopped there and couldn’t really follow any more.
Obviously Hideki is stretching his lead a little bit so it was good to get a birdie to finish. It’s going to be hard to catch him, but I’m in a decent position going into Sunday. I’m playing well, so I just need to keep it going for one more day.
“I don’t think you can change your approach on this golf course. You still need to respect it and to hit fairways. With the greens being soft this week, you can be a little more aggressive with the shots to the greens but the premium is hitting fairways. That’s going to be the main priority tomorrow.”
Matt Kuchar: “My caddie alerted me (that the prize of a car was no longer available), so I literally found out a minute before my shot. I guess the way to describe it is the saddest hole-in-one ever, in that I knew I just made a hole-in-one and I was teased by this beautiful car sitting there that is not to be mine.
“We all had a good laugh about it so it wasn’t too bad. Henrik (Stenson) came up and said “It’s my fault, the back tee box was not in very good shape.” He was the one that asked for the tees to be moved forward and I guess that made the hole far too easy. So yeah, he owes me something.
“A hole-in-one is great to have; it’s an eagle in a big event. To go ahead and put two under on a scorecard on a hole is a nice thing and it certainly helps my placement a good bit.”
