Marc Leishman and Cam Smith have illuminated Metro today in round 3. Photo: JUSTIN ROCKET FALCONER
Australia did a big job today at the ISPS Handa World Cup, but not big enough to bring running-down leader Belgium into trouble.
When Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman had penetrated six-under-three in the third round of Fourball in Metropolitan, they walked past the leaders of the night and the large gallery hummed for support.
But the birds dried up on the harder backs of nine, and at the same time Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry started to race the second 63 of Belgium in three days to take a leading lead in the final round of twenty-four laps of tomorrow.
At the age of 19, the Belgians are five strokes away from Mexico (65), Italy (66) and second-rate joint leader Korea (68), with Sweden (64), England (67) and host country Australia (65) a shot further back at 13 below.
Leishman, who had the Aussies roll with an eagle on the par-fifth, said he and Smith were still close enough, but admitted they would have a chance.
"It was a good day, it was probably a story of two different nines, we clearly started off and cooled down a bit on the 9", said Leishman.
"But the back was extremely heavy, I thought, which is quite interesting in fourball if you're so used to attacking and you can not really attack.
"So they tried to make the 20- and 30-footers for birdies and we were just not able to make them, but it was fun for birdie 16 and finish for seven under (today)."
Smith had extraordinary bad luck in the final hole when his laser 130m approached half-volleyed the pin and rebounded from the green, depriving the Aussies of an almost certain birdie.
"Yes, I did not play my best golf on the 9th and just when I took a good picture, I got a little bad luck … but that's just golf for you," said the laidback Queenslander.
Leishman said that Sunday's format would work in favor of the Aussies, especially with some raw support from home fans.
"Whatever the conditions are, foursomes is such a difficult game It will be very important for us to make a good start, really get into it, give them (the leaders) something to talk about think about it, because if we do not have a few less than five or six holes, they can kind of cruise, "Leishman said.
"It would be good if we could get the crowd in. I do not think we should put ourselves up, I'm thinking more about letting the people behind us think.
"If we are the" fanatics "roaring, our friends and family, we have many people who support us, which is great.We have enjoyed so far this week and it would be nice if we had our best day tomorrow could make. "
Pieters and Detry were again exemplary and within reach of the first World Cup in Belgium, but their task was made easier by an incredible sequence of holes by the Italian team.
Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore would not have individual sieves on the par-five 14th at Metro in a month with Sundays, but somehow inexplicably combined to have one today with a series of failed shots around the green.
When bogeys is a & # 39; no-no & # 39; are, the double bogey threatened to derail the Italians, especially when they followed a closing bogey five on the 18th
Yet they threw nine birdies around the bloodbath to stay exactly in the mix.
The final round starts tomorrow at 9.55 am and the Aussies-third finishes at 12.06 and plays next to Sweden.