Ogilvy in command after Australian Open third round

December 04, 2010 | 17:00

(0) user say

Victorian Geoff Ogilvy is one round away from capturing his second Australian title after a five-under par 67 at The Lakes Golf Club on Saturday.

On a total third-round score of 200, Ogilvy extended his lead over fellow Australian Matt Jones (71) to five strokes, with Australians Greg Chalmers (66) and Alistair Presnell (67) one shot further back in equal third at 10-under.

John Senden (70), the 2006 Australian Open champion, is lurking in equal 5th at nine-under alongside fellow Australian Matthew Griffin (72).

American David Oh (67) and Australia's Bronson La'Cassie (68) share seventh at eight-under.

With only 18 holes of play left in the 2010 Australian Open the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the PGA of Australasia, looks to be firmly in Ogilvy's hands.

Trading birdies with his playing partner for the duration of the front nine, it wasn't until Jones bogeyed the seventh that Ogilvy looked to have the tournament firmly in his control.

Ogilvy's game couldn't be faulted until the final hole of the day when the World Number 43 missed the 18th green to finish with the only bogey of his round.

"It's never nice to finish like that no matter what you shoot," said Ogilvy, although it didn't take him long to look at the positives. "I feel I played well and made the most of the day."

"I've been blessed so far -- I haven't had to hit a shot in the rain."

Having captured the Australian PGA Championship in 2008 Ogilvy will Sunday look to claim his second PGA Tour of Australasia title and his first on OneAsia.

Korean Tour regular David Oh of USA enjoyed a bogey-free round finishing with a three-under 67 to tie seventh with La'Cassie. He birdied five-times on the front nine, with a short game featuring a 12-foot putt on the ninth hole and a 40-foot putt on the 12th.

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional