After completing his second round of the Australian Open on Friday, Cameron Smith made it clear he only had one thing on his mind at Royal Melbourne.
“I’m here to win the Stonehaven Cup,” Smith said, referring to the prize silverware awarded to the tournament’s winner.
Smith did his chances of claiming his first Australian Open no harm in wet and cool conditions on Saturday, finishing the third round two shots off the lead on 12-under-par.
The Queenslander’s 5-under 66 has him sharing second place with South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Mexican Carlos Ortiz.
McIlroy halted by banana skin
Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen leads on 14-under after matching Smith’s score in the third round.
Australians Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott are four strokes off the pace, tied for sixth place with New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy bizarrely had to overcome a discarded banana peel on his way to reaching 5-under for the tournament.
Smith could well have found himself atop the leaderboard heading into Sunday.
He held the lead before he stepped up to the 18th tee but a bogey dashed his chances, while Neergaard-Petersen seized the moment by finishing the day with three straight birdies.
It was one of only two blemishes on Smith’s scorecard in a round that included an eagle and five birdies.
“I feel like I definitely didn’t have my best stuff today,” Smith said after his third round.
“I definitely didn’t hit it like I hit it the first couple of days but still managed to get a score out of it.”
The eagle on the par-five 14th hole moved Smith into the lead, while his birdie on the 17th illustrated how coolly he handled most challenges thrown at him during a day often interrupted by rain.
His tee shot on the par-five 17th hole landed off the fairway, forcing the spectator gallery to be parted so he had enough space for his attempt to get himself out of trouble.
Smith eventually got onto the green and successfully putted for birdie before making a misstep on the 18th hole.
A victory on Sunday would be a timely boost to Smith’s confidence after he missed the cut in last week’s Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.
“It’s just nice being in contention,” Smith said.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had this feeling, to be honest. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
“I love that it’s here. I love that it’s at Royal Melbourne. I love that it’s the Australian Open. I couldn’t think of a better place to get back into form.”
Lee recovers after early struggles
While Smith was creeping up the leaderboard, Lee was in danger of losing touch after placing himself in title contention on Friday.
The golfing gods seemed to be against Lee when he started his third round, with a wayward tee shot on the first hole landing the West Australian off the fairway.
He made a credible recovery, however could not avoid posting a bogey after starting the day at 8-under, one shot behind overnight leaders Neergaard-Petersen and Daniel Rodrigues.
Lee missed the fairway again on the second hole, yet avoided dropping another stroke.
But by the time he scooped his ball from the cup on the fifth hole, his third round was teetering.
Three bogeys, a birdie and a par meant he had slumped to 6-under.
Min Woo Lee fought back after a disappointing front nine. (Getty Images: Jonathan DiMaggio)
When he reached the 12th tee, Lee had recorded another bogey, as well as a birdie, and he could not afford to fall further off the pace.
Instead of faltering, he went to work and reeled off four consecutive birdies on the back of a solid putting display to climb back up the leaderboard at 10-under.
The run was halted by a par on the 16th and he could not make any further progress with his score on the 17th and 18th holes, finishing with a round of 2-under 69.
“It was nice to actually bounce back,” Lee said about recovering from his shaky start.
“I had some momentum there going my way. It’s just one of those courses where if you don’t hit it that good off the tee or around the green, it can bite you. “
Scott, the 2009 Australian Open winner, went about his business with minimal fuss, carding a 3-under 68.
