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Asian Tour Qualifying School: Day Three

Friday, 16 January 2009
Ross Biddiscombe
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Ally Mellor has moved into contention after day three of Asian Tour Qualifying School

It was a bit of a messy day for the third round of the Asian Tour Q School as play was called to a halt early with a handful of the competitors still out on the golf course. A couple of Englishmen were still doing well, however, despite the problems.

Joint leader after round two John Parry was level par after 17 holes while Ally Mellor completed his 18 holes in 70 to put him two behind the clubhouse leader Eduardo Herrara of Chile.

Twenty-two-year-old Parry was most unlucky not to finish. “I was in the greenside bunker on the final 18th hole after my second shot but it was too dark to play. I hope to finish off the hole well early tomorrow morning and keep my momentum going," he said.

Mellor, meanwhile, was very happy with his 3 under par score. "This was the easiest day with not much wind so I could make the score. I played this same course (the St Andrews 2000 course in Thailand) for the First Stage of Q School here and I finished sixth so I quite like it and I hope to keep it going in the remaining rounds," he said.

The greens became a little firmer and a little tougher on day three, so scoring was not very low, but some other Europeans did make progress. Andrew Marshall shot a 71 to move into the top 40 and Finland’s Tori Karjalainen had a super 69 to race into the top 10.

However, first day leader Ross Bain had a disastrous 82 to send him flying back down the field and Yasin Ali of England was not much better with 77. They both now lie tied 83rd.

So long as the bad light doesn’t disrupt play further, the tournament should be back on schedule after day four. Currently 120 players are still in the field fighting to finish 40th or tied in order to gain a Tour Card. Including Parry who has still to finish, there are nine Europeans inside the current score required for a Card.

Ross Biddiscombe is author of Golf On The Edge: Triumphs & Tragedies Of Q School

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