Ogletree surges; Tabuena fades

DOHA, Qatar (Asian Tour News) — American Andy Ogletree made a statement of intent to win his second International Series title when he took the third-round lead in the International Series Qatar Saturday, after firing an outstanding six-under-par 66, on another windswept day at Doha Golf Club.

Ogletree, who triumphed in the International Series Egypt last November, put himself in a strong position for a repeat on Sunday, after moving to eight under for the tournament, which gave him a commanding five-shot lead from Thailand's Suradit Yongcharoenchai.

Meanwhile, Miguel Tabuena slipped to a tie for 30th on 5-over after struggling with a 76.

Suradit started day two in front but carded a 74 while Thailand's Chapchai Nirat and Malaysian Ben Leong are a shot further back following rounds of 71 and 73 respectively.

After a poor finish to his second round yesterday when he made a bogey on 15 and then a double bogey on 16 Ogletree looked like a man seeking redemption today, and he did just that with a confident bogey-free performance, that saw him make an eagle and four birdies.

The 24-year-old, playing in the penultimate group, took the lead thanks to a brilliant run of holes from nine, which saw him go birdie, eagle, birdie. The eagle on the par-five 10th came after a lengthy chip-in, while his birdie on the ensuing hole saw him take a three-shot lead over Leong.

And he satisfactorily got his revenge on the 16th when he reached the short 307-yard par four with an iron off the tee to set up a two-putt birdie, which increased the lead to four.

A double bogey by Leong on the par-five 18th allowed the American to end the day with an even bigger buffer.