Australian Marcus Fraser takes one-stroke lead into final round at Hong Kong Open
The Australian is making a comeback after eight months off the circuit because of a hand injury and is lapping it up on the Fanling course
Marcus Fraser spent eight months sitting on a couch nursing a sore left hand before deciding it was time to resume his career. He now finds himself in the lead entering the final day at the Hong Kong Open. Is he surprised? You bet he is.
"No one is more surprised than I am to find myself in the lead," said a smiling Fraser after carding a five-under-par 65 on Saturday to add to his first two rounds of 67 for a total of 11-under and a one-shot lead going into the last day.
Fraser leads fellow Australian Scott Hend by one shot with Angelo Que, of the Philippines, Jbe Kruger, of South Africa, and England's Mark Foster tied for third two shots behind on nine under.
No one is more surprised than I am to find myself in the lead
Marquee name Ernie Els, who had begun the day with a two-shot lead and believing the par-70 layout was "there for the taking", found himself forced to eat those words as Fanling struck back, resulting in three bogeys and a double as he shot one-over 71 to drop to eight-under.
Fraser, who is in love with Fanling having had three top-10 finishes here in the past, made up his mind that the Hong Kong Open would be the tournament where he would try to ease himself back after an operation on a bone in his left hand.
"I had shooting pain across the top of my hand so the surgeon went in and took a bone out. I got all that right, but then had tendinitis down the side of the hand. That was another three months of injections. I got rid of it and then had rehab. It's been a long process, eight months sitting on the couch," Fraser said.
After solid rounds on Thursday and Friday, Fraser began slowly, taking a bogey in his opening hole yesterday before getting into the swing of it as he rolled in six birdies, four of them in the last six holes, to push himself to the top of the leaderboard.
The rest of the field including overnight leader Els were still out there but no one could manage to come close.
"To come in and play the way I did on the back nine was pretty pleasing. I had no idea coming into the week and I've got no idea going into [Sunday]," Fraser said. "Hopefully I will go out and keep playing the way I'm doing it. I've forgotten how much fun it is to play in a golf tournament, especially being in the mix."
Five-time winner on the Asian Tour Hend began by birdieing his first three holes, then slumped in the middle before finishing strongly on 67 to lie a stroke behind Fraser.
"I lost my way a bit and it got a bit messy but I hung in there," said Hend.
The Big Easy, a four-time major winner, had a rough day. If not for an eagle on the par-five 13th, Els would have really been in the same mess defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez found himself after a seafood dinner on the eve of the tournament. Jimenez, suffering from food poisoning, missed the cut.
"It was an up-and-down day and it is disappointing," said Els, struggling with his right hip. "But I'm still in with a chance."
