Smith returns from LIV series to lead Fortinet Australian PGA.. full leaderboard

 DP World Tour : Fortinet Australian PGA Leaderboard

Cameron Smith leads the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship by three shots after posting a third-round two-under-par 69 at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

The Australian carded six birdies and four bogeys in blustery conditions on Saturday to head into the final round on 11 under par, with Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and China’s Liu Yan Wei his nearest challengers on eight under.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Min Woo Lee and halfway leader Jason Scrivener were part of a four-strong group of Australians with Brad Kennedy and Jake McLeod a shot further back in Brisbane.

Smith, who won The Open Championship earlier this year before he decided to jump to the renegade LIV Series for guaranteed money, began day three a shot adrift of Scrivener, but was two ahead after he made his second birdie of the day with a near ace at the par-three fourth and his countryman made a bogey.

The Major winner made his third birdie of the day at the sixth to lead by three, before another followed at the seventh, but he bogeyed the par-five ninth to hit the turn in 33.

Back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th — where playing partner Kawamura made a birdie — saw Smith’s lead disappear.

But two birdies in a row from the 15th helped him open a four-stroke lead before he bogeyed the 18th for the first time this week to sign for a 69 which left him wanting more.

"I’d like to be six or seven ahead, to be honest, but it’s a good spot to be in," said Smith. 

"I can’t complain. Everything’s feeling really good, so feeling really confident and really looking forward to tomorrow."

Smith is targeting his third title in this event, having won back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, with the 29-year-old also in the field at next week's ISPS HANDA Australian Open, another tournament co-sanctioned with the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

"Like I said at the start of the week, I wouldn’t complain with another one of these," he added. 

"My big thing down here was to have a really big crack at the Aussie Open. I haven’t won one of those yet and I think that would be a really good end to a really good year. I’ll be trying my best tomorrow still."

Smith's future playing in these events may well rest in the hands of a judge who will rule on the eligibility of LIV Series players in February 2023.

europeantour.com

edit Bryan Angus