After a blustery day at Doha Golf Club, Steve Webster and Rafael Cabrera-Bello are tied at the summit of the leaderboard going into the final round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The 29-year-old Spaniard Cabrera-Bello, who had started the day with a two shot advantage on the lead, looked to have maintained that margin before two dropped shots late on saw him settle for a third round of 73 after a breezy afternoon.
On the contrary, Webster finished his round in tremendous fashion after an inauspicious start. The 39-year-old Englishman, who started the tournament with an albatross on Wednesday, played his final 13 holes in four-under after dropping two shots early on. The two-time European Tour winner would post a two-under 70, and join the Spaniard at 12-under for the tournament.
“That wasn't pretty,” admitted Webster, when reflecting on his poor start.
“I don't know what happened the first six or seven holes.
“I hit it really well on the range and I think I got a bit cocky on the course and hit so many bad shots the first six or seven holes; it was like I had never played golf before.”
The Englishman, who has been performing well on the greens with a long-putter this week, looked to have fallen out of the reckoning, but bounced back with birdies at the seventh, 11th, 14th and 15th to recover what had appeared to have been a potentially ruinous round.
“On the back nine I gave myself a few chances and I knocked in a really good putt on 11 which made things feel a little better,” he added.
“But the pins were tucked away a bit today and that's why the scores have pretty much stayed the way they were.”
Cabrera-Bello, who finished fourth behind compatriot Pablo Larrazabal last week in Abu Dhabi, reflected on his third round of 73: “It was a tougher day today, things did not go as great as they have been so far.
“I still feel as though I played okay, I just did not manage to score as well. It was tough with the wind, I didn't quite make the putts and struggled here and there with my chipping, but overall I got the not-so-good round out of the way and I am still in a fantastic position going into Saturday.”
In difficult conditions, that saw the field largely stagnate, it was 21-year-old Frenchman Adrien Saddier who produced the round of the day with a brilliant eight-under 64 to ascend right into contention at 11-under.
Playing in just his fourth event as a professional, after coming through Qualifying School at the end of last year, Saddier has already finished in a tie for sixth at the Nelson Mandela Championship, and continued to belie his inexperience with an incredible six birdies in his opening seven holes to complete the front-nine in 30. Two more would follow at the 10th and 12th, and it leaves the Frenchman just one shot off the leaders and in tie for third alongside South Africa’s Thomas Aiken and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.
“It was a great round, I played very well,” Saddier said. “I played the first two rounds with Steve Webster and in the long game we were pretty similar but he putted better, so I thought if I can make some good putts I can do the same as him.
“Coming from the Qualifying School I need some good results so it's great to shoot 64 today. I finished 2013 very well and I am starting 2014 well too. I only turned professional in July so my only aim this year is to keep my card.”
It’s sure to be an enthralling final round at Doha Golf Club, with 19 players all within four shots of the lead. That includes two-time winner Paul Lawrie who is at 10-under, with fellow Ryder Cup player Sergio Garcia a shot further back at nine-under after a third round of 69.
The 45-year-old Scot, Lawrie, also shot a 69 as he seeks a third victory in this event, following triumphs in 1999 and 2012, both of which helped propel him onto the European Ryder Cup for that year. With the biennial competition on home soil at Gleneagles, the likeable Aberdonian will be hoping for a similar result after what is sure to be a compelling Saturday in Qatar.