Westwood off pace as rain stops Ballantine's golf
ICHEON, South Korea — Lee Westwood battled to hold on to his position as golf's world number one on Saturday as a thunderstorm forced an early halt to the third round of the Ballantine's Championship.
The Englishman was four shots off joint leaders Miguel Angel Jimenez and Brett Rumford of Australia when the storm sent players running for shelter at the Blackstone Golf Club near Seoul.
Westwood lies tied 11th on six under par and faces an uphill struggle to secure the top-five finish he needs to stop Germany's Martin Kaymer overtaking him in the world rankings after just a week at number one.
After carding a four-under-par second round 68 on Friday, Westwood sank birdies at the first two holes but was unable to capitalise on the good start, making par on the next 10 holes.
He narrowly missed a birdie putt on the par four 11th and will return to a difficult position on the 13th when play resumes on Sunday after skewing his tee shot.
Cigar-chomping Spaniard Jimenez fired three birdies on the front nine to join Rumford at the top of the leaderboard on 10 under par after nine third round holes, before the heavens opened.
Wales's Rhys Davies lay two shots back, while seven players were tied on seven under including big-hitting American star Dustin Johnson.
Jimenez, who is chasing his 19th European Tour win at the $3.2 million Ballantine's, said he was pleased with his performance after negotiating the up-and-down course with some excellent iron play.
"Played very well the first nine holes, hitting it very well. No bogeys, three birdies," he said.
The 43-year-old Ryder Cup star has a fine record in Asia, with European Tour victories in Hong Kong, Thailand and China, though the Ballantine's is only his second competitive appearance in South Korea.
Players will resume the incomplete third round at 8:00 am on Sunday (2300 GMT on Saturday) before going straight into the fourth round and Jimenez was upbeat about the long day ahead.
"Tomorrow, play 27 holes, feel good. Feel fine. Tomorrow, marathon, you know," he said.
Rumford, who was runner-up at last year's Ballantine's, shot a sparkling nine-under-par 63 on Friday to lead after the second round but said the Saturday course set-up had been a tough challenge.
"There were some tricky pins out there today. They were placed up on the top part of all the tiers and ridges, and it was pretty tricky trying to get on the right tier," he said.
"You had to be very, very precise, but I stayed patient."
Hopes for a first South Korean winner of the event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, look to rest with 23-year-old Kim Dae-hyun, who was three shots off the lead, and Park Sang-hyun who lay two shots further back.
Big names Ernie Els, Ian Poulter and Y.E. Yang all failed to make the cut on Friday.
By Damon Wake (AFP) – 10 hours ago
