Spain’s Jorge Campilo produced a bogey-free eight par 63 in day three of the Magical Kenya Open golf tournament at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course, to grab a one shot lead going into Sunday’s final round of the open, a DP World Tour event presented by Absa.
Campilo, one of the leading contenders in this year’s tournament, birdied the third,, fifth and the ninth at the front nine, got off well at the back nine with a quick birdie at the 11th, parred the 12th and 13th, then rolled in birdies in the remaining four holes from the 15th to the 18th for his brave 63 which gave him a three rounds total of 13 under par 200 with a one shot advantage from hot-firing Robert Macintyre of Scotland.
“It was a great round. I played really solid and was able to make a few long putts as well, that helps. I finished great. Four birdies in a row to finish and I didn’t have a chance to make any bogeys. It was a comfortable round. I hit it very solid and I putted great, so everything worked out really good.
“The last two holes are birdie holes. On ten I got really unlucky because I three-putted there, I hit a pitching wedge in and had no putt because I was at the edge of the green. Then on 14 I hit two great shots on a tough hole and had a 14-footer for birdie, uphill, and I left it just short. I thought I just needed to get it to the hole.
“On 15 I made a great 15-footer downhill and hit a great six iron, the best shot of the day, on 16 to two feet. On 17 I hit a bad shot in and made another great putt, 45-feet. Then a birdie on 18, it was really nice,’’ said Campilo and added:
“I’m glad that I’ve won twice, otherwise I’d be quite nervous. Since I know how hard it is to win I just need to have a good day tomorrow and hope nobody else plays great like I did today. It’s not going to be easy, I’m going to try and keep playing the way I have been and see if I can make the putts.
“It’s hard to even say that my name would be somewhere that Seve’s name is. It’s hard to say it, hard to think about it, but it would be great and a third win would be nice.”
The Scottish, a likely choice for Europe’s Ryder Cup team birdied the first, fourth, fifth and the seventh and eighth, eagled the 10th, dropped his only shot of the day at the 16th, but closed in with a birdie at the home green for a 65 and an all rounds total of 201, with only a shot separating him from third-placed Masahiro Kawamura of Japan on 60 for 202, sharing third place with South Africa’s Jayden Schaper on 69 also for 202.
“It was good, same again. Pretty good off the tee and approach play has been the strength the last week and it’s good to see some putts go in. Overall, game is in decent shape. (On putting) It’s been something that’s been holding me back, but the last few days I’m seeing it go in and I’m feeling really comfortable,” said Macintyre.
Spain’s Santiago Torrio emerged at the leaderboard for the first time with 64 for 303 to occupy the fifth place on his own and a chance to strike to the top position in the final round where the overall winner will take home a total of 321,247 Euro or 340,000 US dollars.
The final round starts at 7.09am on Sunday with the leaders Campilo, Macintyre and Kawamura set to tee of at 12.05pm.
The Leaderboard;
Jorge Campilo (Sp) 69, 68, 63=200
Robert Macintyre (Sco) 71, 65, 65=201
Msahiro Kawamura (Jap) 67, 67, 68=202
Jayden Schaper (SA) 68, 65, 69=202
Santiago Torrio(Sp) 71, 68, 64=203
Ryo Hisatsune (Jap) 70, 63, 71=204
Borja Virto (Sp) 66, 68, 70=204
John Catlin (USA) 64, 70, 70= 204
Lucas Nemecz (Aut) 67, 68, 69=204
Mathew Jordan (68, 68, 68=204
JC Ritchie (SA) 69, 69, 66=204
