Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Local hero Lin Wen-tang romped to a commanding six-shot lead after carding a flawless five-under-par 67 in the third round of the US$110,000 Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship on Saturday.

The six-time Asian Tour winner, who held a three-stroke halfway lead, put himself in prime position for a second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title with his three-day total of 17-under-par 199 aggregate. He had claimed his first ADT win at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship when it was inaugurated in 2010.

Order of Merit leader Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei signed for a 69 to move into second place with Thailand’s Sattaya Supupramai (69), Englishmen Grant Jackson (70) and Peter Richardson (68) on matching 205s at the Ta Kang Shan Golf Course.

Nils Floren of Sweden, who carded the day’s lowest round of 65, was seven shots off the pace in tied sixth position alongside local hope Huang Tung-liang and Niall Turner of Ireland at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship, which is the 11th stop on the ADT schedule this season.

Lin was delighted to put himself in a commanding position heading into the final round.

He believes he can go on to complete a popular home victory if he maintains his focus over the final 18 holes on Sunday.

“It’s great to be in the lead. It will be nice to win of course but I will try not to give myself any pressure. I just have to stay focused and play consistently out there. I will stick to the game plan and keep to my own pace so hopefully I can maintain my good form tomorrow,” said the 40-year-old.

Lin admitted he got impatient on the front-nine when he shot eight consecutive pars after opening his third round with a birdie.

However, he made a second birdie right after the turn and added another birdie and eagle on holes 16 and 17 before finishing with a par.

“Honestly, I did get a little impatient after making so many pars in a row on the front nine. I was trying hard to make birdies but it just didn’t happen. Nevertheless, I’m still glad I hang in there and maintain my lead and I never make any mistakes today,” added Lin.

Lin, who is highly regarded as one of Chinese Taipei’s most successful players, broke into the scene on the premier Asian Tour in 2008 when he claimed two titles, including the prestigious Hong Kong Open, and finished second on the Order of Merit that year.

Local sensation Chan, who claimed an unprecedented fourth title on the ADT last week, is hopeful of setting a new record on the ADT with a fifth victory on Sunday but he knows it will not be easy as there is still a lot of work to do in order to catch up with Lin.

“My putting was not good today. I could have done better than that. I’m very happy to be in contention again although there is still a bit of catching up to do. I will just try to stay relax and play my own game tomorrow,” said the 28-year-old Chan, who traded one eagle and four birdies against three bogeys.

“I’m going to wear my lucky shirt again tomorrow so we’ll see how it goes!” laughed Chan, who had worn the same polka-dotted shirt in the last three tournaments he won.

The ADT was launched with five tournaments in 2010 before growing to eight in 2011, 13 in 2012, 16 in 2013 and a record 20 tournaments in the 2014 season.

This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season and also continue to offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.


Leading third round scores:

199 – LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 68-64-67

205 – Peter RICHARDSON (ENG) 67-70-68, CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 68-68-69, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 66-70-69, Grant JACKSON (ENG) 67-68-70

206 – Nils FLOREN (SWE) 70-71-65, Niall TURNER (IRL) 68-69-69, HUANG Tung-liang (TPE) 66-69-71

207 – Carl SANTOS-OCAMPO (PHI) 70-70-67, HSU Chia-jen (TPE) 69-69-69, HSIEH Tung-hung (TPE) 71-67-69, Brett MUNSON (USA) 71-67-69

208 – YEH Wei-tze (TPE) 69-71-68, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 72-69-67, Michael MOORE (AUS) 67-70-71, David LUTTERUS (AUS) 71-66-71.