Dysen forced to share top spot in Jakarta

The pressure of being the hunted was not a factor for England’s Simon Dyson as he saw his outright lead become a joint one at the end of round three of the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open.

Dyson made a flying start with an eagle at the first, followed by two birdies in his next three holes, but on-song Australian Andrew Buckle quickly loomed large in his rear-view mirrors.

Buckle stormed into the lead Dyson had held for all but the first hole – when Welshman Stephen Dodd had started two clear of the rest at 12 under after a brilliant, birdie-laden second round – by the 17th.

But the Yorkshireman claimed he was not put off by Buckle’s birdie-making, which numbered seven in his round of 65, because he was thinking only of his own game.

“I never looked at the boards,” he said. “I didn’t even know I was clear of the field. He [Buckle] must have played lovely.

“Seven under is a great round today. I try not to watch the leaderboards, to be honest. I just want to be playing as I have been and shooting sub-par rounds.

“I’m sure Andrew is looking forward to it as much as I am. I’ve never met him, but I’m sure we’ll get on just fine.

“I think if one of us shoots four or five under tomorrow, that could take it.”

Buckle, on the other hand, was well aware he was homing in on Dyson as he whittled away his rival's lead, which was three strokes at one stage.

The 23-year-old was the epitome of laidback afterwards, saying: “The holes the leaderboards are on makes it pretty hard to miss them. You see them, but it is only the third round, so it’s all about getting yourself in position for Sunday.

“There are a lot of good players up there and any of them are capable of shooting a good score, so we’ll see what happens. I’ll just play my game."

The Brisbane-born man has only played two European Tour events this season, but has performed well both times, finished tied-15th at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters and the Johnny Walker Classic.

And he is confident that he can maintain his form going into the last day, even if he has not faced this scenario too many times before in his fledgling career.

“I’m playing well, I’m hitting my tee shots well, keeping it on the fairway on most holes,” he added. “I hit a couple of shots off-line, but I managed to get out of trouble. I’m also putting well which is the main thing.

“My goal is always to play well and do my best and that’s all I can ask for. Golf is a funny game, it changes from week to week, day to day. Trying to improve all the time, I’m working on a few things and it’s going alright this week.”

The lead pair are three shots ahead of their nearest challenger, Wang Ter-chang, of Taiwan.

His round was a series of missed birdie opportunities and after making an eagle at the first, he was unable to pick up another shot until the 15th hole, which ensured the leaders were able to eke out a potentially decisive advantage.

Nevertheless, the 43-year-old was pleased with how he had performed.

He said: “I played the first very well. I hit a good drive and then a five iron to just five inches, which I tapped in. It was the perfect start. After that I was very steady, but I couldn’t make any putts. My putter was not too good.

“I hope to win and it is good to be in the position I am, but at my age it will be very difficult. Nothing is impossible though.”

David Higgins was best of the Irish on -10 today, followed By Damien McGrane on -4. Peter Lawrie finished on -1.