December 13, 2008

WITH New Zealand Open and Japan Open titles already in his keeping, David Smail has put himself in position to add an Australian Open crown to his resume in the final round.

Smail fired a steady two-under par 70 at the Rose Bay course to add to his earlier rounds of 67 and 68 to move to 11-under for the tournament, one-stroke ahead of New South Welshman Andre Stolz (66).

Overnight leader Stephen Dartnall (75) and Ewan Porter (72) are two shots further back on eight-under, ahead of four players on seven-under, including two-time former Open champion Robert Allenby (71).

After two days of dreadful weather, with the second round carried over until Saturday morning due to heavy rain, players were offered some respite on a clear, sunny Sydney day and they responded with plenty of low scores.

Stolz and Steven Bowditch (66) were both on track to break the course record of 65 before the wind picked up late in the day.

They are all chasing Smail, who endured a gruelling day, rising just after 4.30am and forced to complete 11 holes of his second round before getting his third round underway.

"It'd be nice to have the New Zealand Open, Japan Open and the Aussie Open," he said.

"That would sound pretty good. I'll just see how it goes tomorrow.

"It would be nice to bring the Cup home to New Zealand that's for sure."

Stolz is on the comeback trail after he quit the game for two years due to a wrist injury.

The 38-year-old only started playing again seriously in the past six months.

After finishing in a tie for 17th at the Australian Masters two weeks ago, he now finds himself in contention for the Stonehaven Cup.

"I had an alright week at Huntingdale and thought it'd be good to finish top 50 on the moneylist," he said.

"Pretty small goal really but I just didn't want to have to ask for any more invites.

"I'm just enjoying it and tomorrow I'll be trying my guts out, but I feel like I'm lucky to be out here and it's a bonus to be back playing after so many years."

Allenby is lurking just four shots off the pace and the veteran will surely be a threat in the final round against an inexperienced-looking leaderboard.

But Smail, who plies his trade on the Japanese Tour, is a seasoned campaigner and won't give up his lead without a fight.

The Kiwi knew exactly what he wanted to do after finishing an arduous day.

"Just rest. It might be room service and just lay down and rest," he said.

APGA: Australian Open
Pos Name NAT Hole To Par 1 2 3 4 Total
1 David Smail NZL F -11 67 68 70 205
2 Andre Stolz AUS F -10 69 71 66 206
T3 Stephen Dartnall AUS F -8 65 68 75 208
T3 Ewan Porter AUS F -8 65 71 72 208
T5 Chris Gaunt AUS F -7 70 65 74 209
T5 Steven Bowditch AUS F -7 72 71 66 209
T5 Rohan Blizard AUS F -7 70 69 70 209
T5 Robert Allenby AUS F -7 71 67 71 209
T9 Andrew Bonhomme AUS F -6 69 72 69 210
T9 Mathew Goggin AUS F -6 65 70 75 210
T9 Tim Wood AUS F -6 70 74 66 210
T9 Jason Norris AUS F -6 72 65 73 210