Asian Amateur: Campbell hangs on despite Matsuyama's charge
10/1/2011 | by
see also: View results for Asia-Pacific Amateur, Emirates Golf Club - Majlis Course
Hideki Matsuyama charged with 7 birdies but Ben Campbell remains leader heading into final round
SINGAPORE (Oct. 1, 2011) -- Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama produced a sensational record equally low round at The Singapore Island Country Club this afternoon but it still was not enough to lead the tournament going into the final round.
Seven birdies in a blemish free round saw the Japanese star light up the tournament after a day that began with severe weather delays. As the weather cleared it seemed to step the play up a level as the cream of Asian golf traded birdies during an absorbing third round.
However, it is 20-year-old Campbell who goes into tomorrow ahead after a birdie at the last gave him a round of 69 and a one-shot lead over Matsuyama at 14-under par.
But things looked far from certain after Campbell, who made the cut at least week’s Asia Pacific Open in Japan, after a poor approach into the water on the 12th hole led to a double bogey six.
At the same time Matsuyama was in the process of shooting a six-under par back nine that resulted in a tournament equalling low of 65. The 20-year-old from Tohoku Fukushi University – who narrowly missed an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th - has become something of a Saturday specialist as he also shot 65 on the Saturday in last year’s competition. He also shot a third round 67 at this year’s Masters Tournament on his way to winning the Silver Cup for low amateur.
Campbell said: “I saw a leader board on the par-five 16th, but I just ignored it, I don’t like to look at the leader board while I am playing. I just like to play my own game and focus on that, I don’t want to pay attention to what anyone else is doing on the course. I try to shoot the best that I can, if it is good enough it is good enough, and if it’s not then it’s not.
“I finished birdie, par, birdie, so that wasn’t too bad. I had a disappointing double when I was at 14 under so it would have been nice to keep my low round going, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Campbell, who underwent surgery on his foot just seven weeks ago, estimated that he may need to get to 20-under par to win the tournament. However, he insisted that he will not be intimidated playing with Matsuyama in tomorrow’s final group.
“He is just another player in the tournament”, he explained. “I just want to keep going out there and do what I’ve been doing for the last couple of days. We will see how it all ends up tomorrow.”
Matsuyama, 19, played down his performance, which included birdies at holes 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, 16 and 17, claiming to be disappointed.
“I think I was lucky, I don’t think I played as well as my first round,” he said referring to the 67 he shot on Thursday. “In fact I don’t think I played as well as I’d liked to today. I am hoping to manage my play better for Sunday.”
One thing he was clear on was what will be motivating him during tomorrow’s final round, which gets underway with a two tee start at 8am.
“Last year I did not know much of the pressure because I have never been to an Asian Amateur Championship, there was no pressure at all,” Matsuyama, who has a college teammate caddying for him this week, explained.
“However this year, I want to overcome that because I really want to go back to Augusta really bad. There were too many emotions going around in today’s play but I will have to manage that better tomorrow - I will try to enjoy the pressure tomorrow.
“I have nothing special strategy wise, I think all the players will get a lot of pressure coming into Sunday but this is normal. For my own strategy, I like to my focus on my own game.”
Campbell and Matsuyama, who will start from the 1st in the final group at 9.40am may not have things their own way. Joining them will be Australia’s Cameron Smith who shot an impressive 69 on his own to finish on 10-under par. First round leader Lee Soo-min, of South Korea, finished the day in fourth on nine-under par with Vaughan McCall of New Zealand and Masamichi Ito of Japan sharing fifth place a further shot back.
The fourth round of the 2011 Asian Amateur Championship will be on air with partner broadcasters – including ESPN-Star - from 3-5 pm local time in Singapore (UTC/GMT +8 hours) tomorrow. For details check local listings. AACgolf.com will also feature live streaming of the action.
Bill Macatee, who is part of the Masters Tournament commentator team, and ESPN-Star’s Dom Boulet will act as the on-site, English-speaking announcers, along with Darren Carroll, who will be the on-course commentator.
Results: Asia-Pacific Amateur
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | , Japan | 1000 | 67-71-65-67 | |
| 2 | , Korea | 700 | 65-72-70-64 | |
| 3 | , New Zealand | 500 | 67-66-69-70 | |
| 4 | , Australia | 500 | 68-69-69-67 | |
| 5 | , Japan | 500 | 70-70-68-68 |
About the Asia-Pacific Amateur
The Asia-Pacific Amateur (formerly known as the Asian Amateur) is the first of a series of worldwide championships put together by a between the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A. The event offers the winner a...
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