Caldwell and Kearney going in search of top-10’s in Doha

Adam McKendry
|
|

Niall Kearney (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Adam McKendry

Feature Interviews

Latest Stories

Jonathan Caldwell will head into the final round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in Doha just four shots off the lead, with Niall Kearney a shot further back after day three.

The Clandeboye man moved just outside the top-10 at Doha Golf Club with a one-under 71 in his third round to reach four-under-par for the tournament, which has him within striking distance of leading pair Matthew Jordan and Adrian Meronk.

On a much tougher day for scoring, Caldwell plotted his way around the course well, bouncing back from two bogeys in his first five holes after birdieing the first with birdies at the 10th, 16th and 18th around a bogey at the 17th to move into a share off 11th.

play-sharp-fill

The 37-year-old is positioned well to pick up his best finish since winning the Scandinavian Mixed last year and, after a tough start to the season with injury, it would be a welcome return to form.

Kearney will also fancy his chances of making a final round push as he recorded a solid 72 on day three, and he will carry plenty of momentum into the final round after three late birdies rectified a rough front nine.

The Royal Dublin ace made the turn with just a bogey and a double-bogey on his card, and it looked like he would fall well out of contention, but birdies at the 13th, 14th and 17th have him tied-19th and in with a chance of a Sunday charge.

It looks to be a fight for a maiden DP World Tour win at the top as Jordan signed for a two-under 70 at Doha to move alongside Meronk at eight-under, the Polish ace adding a level-par 72 to retain his second round lead and should Meronk go on to claim victory tomorrow, he would become the first player from Poland to win on the DP World Tour.

“I’m very pleased to be honest. It was super tough. I knew it was going to be tough, it was a grinding day but I’m very satisfied with the result and looking forward to tomorrow,” said Meronk.

“You have to stay patient. You’re going to hit some bad shots, some really bad shots, and you just have to accept it and stay patient.

“It comes with patience. I was very patient. I knew I was going to make some bogeys but I just kept going, kept hitting good shots and I’m glad I did. I’m excited, it’s going to be a great day. Let’s have some fun,” he added.

Meanwhile Jordan posted a two under par round of 70 which included a stunning five under par back nine;
“It’s really hard. I always find putting is so difficult because I don’t know whether to play for the wind or leave it alone so it’s just guesswork. The greens are firm, you’re just predicting what’s going to come. You don’t really know, it’s just educated guessing really.

“I find the front nine is probably tougher, it has less chances anyway. I wasn’t doing too much wrong; I couldn’t get up and down, I couldn’t hit fairways, it just wasn’t quite happening but I knew I wasn’t too far off. I just kept going because you have to.

“It was stressful. How can it not be, it’s just hard work. The simple shots become really tough so it was stressful but very rewarding when you do well,” said the Englishman.

Finland’s Kalle Samooja, another looking for his first victory, was the best player in the field with a 66 to move one off the lead at seven-under, with Pablo Larrazábal, Wilco Nienaber and Adrian Otaegui a shot further back at six-under.

Stay ahead of the game. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest Irish Golfer news straight to your inbox!

More News

Leave a comment


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy & Terms of Service apply.