Tricky Winds Fail to Halt Hend

laying under the curling winds and tricky pin positions , the seven-time Asian Tour victor  came up with some astonishing putts to fire five birdies versus two bogeys to produce a three round overall of 14-under-par 202, two strokes ahead of American Peter Uihlein.

“It was a good grind. Out of 10, I felt like 2 out of 10, felt really tired, no energy. I knew it was going to be a tough day, very windy so I’m very pleased,” said the 43-year-old Australian with one title in the Kingdom from the 2013 Chiang Mai Classic.

Scott was again in contention at the par 72 7,492 yard course where he and Thongchai Jaidee lost to Andrew Dodt of Australia just one shot a year back.

“We practice for a result, we practice to try and get a win, we try to get ourselves in this position to have a win. If you’re not in this position, you get upset with yourself. When you’re actually here, you’ve got to try to enjoy it and embrace it. It’s not very often you get a chance to lead a tournament on a Saturday night, let alone on a Sunday,” Hend added.

Round 1 leader Uihlein , with four birdies and one bogey, fired a 69 to become one of the nine players who scored 69 and below on Saturday.

“I know Thomas (Pieters)shot six under but apart from that there are not a lot of guys going low so it was a good day. It was tough out there but fun and I was pleased with how the day went and how I handled it mentally. I holed some nice putts out there,”  said the 26-year-old from Orlando after a three day total of 12-under-par 204.

While most players struggled to shoot scores, world No 66 Thomas Pieters of Belgium yielded the round lowest of a bogey free 66 and a total 205 which propelled him to joint third along with overnight co-leader Swede Pelle Edberg , who carded a 73lone third, three off the lead.

“I haven’t done much the last two days. Made my par putts and rolled in a couple short birdies putts. Haven’t really made any long putts. So overall, I’m quite happy,” said the 26-year-old who is bothered by sinus infection and fever.

Five shots of the pace were Frenchman Benjamin Hebert, South African Shuan Morris and American David Lipsky, the 2014 Asian Tour No 1, all with 10-under-par 206.

New dad Prom Meesawat proceeded through a bogey free day after hitting a 69 for a three-day-total of nine-under-par 207. She shared the joint eight place along with Panupol Pittayara, with a 74 and Simon Yates of Scotland who had a square par.

““Every player wants to win but I need to focus on my game. The green speed is quite fast, and by just tiny bad impact you miss it unbelievably. You have to be very careful with your putting,” added the 31-year-old Prom who last won an Asian Tour title from the 2014 Yeangder Tournament Player Championship in Taiwan,” said the world No 175 Prom who just celebrated his first daughter three months ago.

Panupol, who started the day with 11 under, committed four bogeys between holes No 11 -15 before he submitted an error prone score card of six bogeys  against four birdies.

“I  just couldn’t catch the green speed and putted very poorly today. It was very wind y and I just didn’t make my putts.  I have to work harder on my putt later today.” Bemoaned the 23-year-old Panupol who hit a 65 on Friday.

Thongchai Jaidee complained about the tough pin positions which resulted in  the majority of players struggling to shoot scores. The 46-year-old sank three birdies, one eagle on the sixth hole against three bogeys to settle with a 70 and a total 208, six shots behind the lead.

“They set up the pins positions of some holes especially the back nine  too difficult for us which is not fair. I understand that the organizers tried to make it more competitive  but it was too diffuclt. This is something the organizers should reconsider,” said the world no 37 still not fully fit because of viral fever.

“I still felt tired and could not play the level I would have wanted to. There were several  mistakes that I shouldn’t have done on this course that I play a lot. But I still hope to have a good rest to recover on Sunday and shoot as many scores as I can. The gap is not that big,” said Thoncghai who was forced to withdraw after the second round of the Maybak Championship three weeks ago due to sickness.