Aaron Wilkin kept up his hopes of claiming his maiden title on the Asian Tour by edging ahead of a stacked leaderboard today to finish with a one-shot lead after Round Three at the Mandiri Indonesia Open.
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The Australian, the first-round leader after a sensational course record 10-under-par 61, carded a 67 for a tournament total of 14-under, here at Damai Indah Golf – PIK Course, North Jakarta.
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Four players are one shot back: Chinese-Taipei’s Ho Yu-Cheng (65), Malaysian Ervin Chang (66), Steve Lewton (66) from England and China’s Sampson Zheng (72) – who had a four-shot lead at the start of the day, over Wilkin.
Eighteen players are within five shots of Wilkin, setting up a brilliant final day of golf with the tournament wide open.
Wilkin, a graduate from last year’s Asian Development Tour (ADT), carded a 71 yesterday after his first-round fireworks, and was equally resilient today when moving day truly came alive.
Playing in the final pairing he made six birdies and two bogies, with his final birdie on the par-five 17th proving the difference.
“I’m happy with that,” said the 31-year-old, playing his first full season on the Asian Tour.
“Sort of stayed behind yesterday which I don’t normally do and did a little bit of practice on the putting, which sort of deserted me a little bit yesterday. So yeah, I felt like the putting was better. I didn’t hit it any better than the last few days, I just holed a few extra putts. Sort of stayed in the round for longer.”
He won the Queensland PGA Championship in 2022 and the BRG Open in Vietnam last year on the ADT – both experiences he can draw upon as he attempts to claim the biggest title of his career tomorrow.
“I was happy with the way I controlled my emotions today, sort of just didn’t really let much get to me. I missed a few putts which I probably expected to hole, hit a few poor shots, but I just sort of just accepted it and moved on. I’m gonna have to do the same tomorrow, I just had a quick look at the leaderboard and there’s so many guys behind me. So yeah, I’m just gonna have to knuckle down and play my own game.”
Zheng, in his rookie season as a professional, had been expected to build on his opening two rounds of 65 and 63.
However, he made the turn in one over for his round, after a double, a bogey, and two birdies before a level par back nine, with one birdie and one bogey.
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He said: “It was playing pretty tough today. I felt like my iron play wasn’t sharp enough, and I missed in a few spots where I shouldn’t have. That cost me a few shots, but I am one back and in position to make a good push tomorrow. I just need to fall back on my strengths and go back to the basics.”
Lewton finished joint second in this event last year and the season before, although at a different venue, and after one of the strongest seasons of his career is attempting to win his first Asian Tour title since his 2014 Mercuries Taiwan Masters victory.
“Played really steady, one silly error which was kind of my fault and not, so apart from that I played really good golf,” said Lewton.
Remarkably, after making a double-bogey par-four 13th, he eagled the following par-four.
He added: “Yeah, I hit a good drive [on 14). I had 40 yards from the fairway to the flag and then pitched in, so that more than made amends for the previous hole, which was a nightmare, from the middle of the fairway making double.”
Like Wilkin, both Ho and Chang are enjoying one of their finest tournaments, chasing their first Asian Tour title.
They also both came through the ADT last year, with the former winning the PKNS Selangor Masters, and the latter also performing with distinction as the recipient of The Kyi Hla Han Future Champions Award – an initiative that sees worthy players selected by the Han family and the Asian Tour, to receive funding to help with the costs of their debut season on the Asian Tour.
Said Chang: “It’s not over until the last ball drops. It’s a great challenge, so far my best performance on the Asian Tour. I’ll keep doing what I am doing, looking forward to tomorrow.”
