Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (SportsNetwork.com) – Defending champion Ryan Moore and
Kevin Na both shot 5-under 67 on Saturday and they moved into a share of the
lead after three rounds of the CIMB Classic.
Moore and Na ended 54 holes at 12-under-par 204 and they share a 1-stroke
lead. When Moore won this title last year, it was his third PGA Tour crown. Na
has one victory on tour.
Sergio Garcia (68) and second-round leader Billy Hurley III (71) are tied for
third place at minus-11 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
Kevin Streelman (71) and Kevin Chappell (70) were both tied for the lead on
the front nine, but dropped into a share of fifth at 9-under-par 207. They
were joined there by Gary Woodland (66) and Sang-Moon Bae (68).
Last week’s runner-up Brendon de Jonge (65) stands alongside Angelo Que (69),
Jeff Overton (71), Patrick Reed (68) and Cameron Smith (69) in ninth place at
minus-8.
Moore opened with a birdie on the first. He carded back-to-back birdies at
four and five, which briefly gave him a piece of the lead at 10-under.
However, he tripped to a bogey on the sixth. Moore parred four in a row from
the seventh. He birdied the par-3 11th and followed with a 12-foot birdie putt
on the 12th.
Moore faltered to another bogey on the par-4 13th, but he bounced right back
with a birdie on No. 14. After a pair of pars, Moore birdied the 17th to join
Na in the lead at 12-under. Moore capped his round with a par at the last.
“I’m kind of in a similar position to where I was last year. I played just
good, solid, consistent golf the last two days,” Moore stated. “The course
challenges every aspect of your game.”
Na had a pair of scoring bursts in round three. He started his round with pars
at one and two. Na ran off three straight birdies from the third to move to
minus-10.
The 31-year-old notched seven consecutive pars from the sixth. Na birdied the
13th to join his playing, Garcia, in the lead at 11-under. Na also birdied No.
14 to move one ahead.
Na capped his bogey-free round with four more pars. including a 9-foot par-
saving putt at the 16th.
“Looks like I’m in a good position. You can go low out here, but you have to
drive the ball well. There are some difficult holes you have to be careful
on,” Na explained.
Garcia found hazards off the tee at 14 and 16. However, he scrambled for par
on both holes. He had five birdies and a bogey through 11 holes, then closed
with seven pars in a row.
NOTES: Moore has a piece of the 54-hole lead for the sixth time in his career
… He has won two of the previous five … Na won one of the previous three
times he had at least a share of the third-round lead … For the third day in
a row, there was a weather delay due to lightning in the area … Saturday’s
delay last two hours, 28 minutes.
