Wilson in front but Langer lurks

Source: Agencies  |   2008-11-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

OLIVER Wilson maintained his quest for a maiden European Tour win by edging ahead of the field after the third round of the Hong Kong Open yesterday, while Bernhard Langer rolled back the years with a brilliant round.

Briton Wilson, looking for his first professional victory after a string of second-place finishes, including the recent HSBC Champions in Shanghai, had a shaky start but finished at 13-under with a round of 65 as his putting gained in confidence.

"You feel like you're sort of losing ground all the time around here, but you've just got to be patient," Wilson told reporters after adding six birdies to his opening-hole bogey.

"If I can keep getting up there, I'll break through eventually," the Englishman said of his prospect of a maiden win.

Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei birdied the last two holes to stand one off the pace at 12-under, while German veteran Langer was a further shot back after a superb round of 63.

Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Spain's Pablo Larrazabal, Briton Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari of Italy were grouped on 10-under, while Scotland's Colin Montgomerie was within striking distance of the leaders at nine-under for the US$2.5 million co-sanctioned event.

The day, however, belonged to Langer, the two-time US Masters winner showing his class with a standout round that included a chip-in eagle on the seventh to put him in position to become the oldest winner on both the European and Asian Tours.

The 51-year-old, who won the tournament in 1991, also showed supreme composure on the greens and nailed a string of long putts to card four successive birdies over the back nine.

"This course kind of suits me because it's not that long, I'm not a long hitter so it's more about precision and being straight and maneuvering the ball a little bit," Langer said.