Rory Hie
Rory Hie reaped the rewards of a new putter and a good shave to give himself a shot for a top-10 finish at the inaugural Indonesian Masters.
The local hero fired a four-under-par 68 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club on Saturday to end the third round in tied 15th place, some 11 shots behind leader Lee Westwood.
"I thought I could have gone to seven or eight under but overall it was a good solid round. My short and long game was good. My putting was much better after I changed putters. I made two important changes today, I switched putters and shaved!" smiled Hie, the only local player to make the halfway cut this week.
"To score you've got to be on your game and precise on this course because the greens are very demanding and undulating. There’s no room for error. You have to keep the ball below the hole all the time."
With the crowds firmly behind him, Hie gave them plenty to cheer about with another impressive performance.
He drew loud roars of approval with an opening birdie and was unlucky to not hole a few more chances.
"That was pretty exciting (birdie on the first hole). There was quite a loud cheer. It felt like I birdied the 18th hole. It was nice to have the home crowd supporting you. I could have made birdie on the second hole but missed a short putt. That has been the story of the week," he said.
"Winning seems to be out of the question with Lee (Westwood) doing so well. Basically I’m aiming for a top-10. I’ve learned from previous experiences that you got to play your own game even though this is a big tournament. You got to focus and I think that’s what happened to the other local professionals. I played in other local tournaments and there’s always a guy shooting five or eight-under. I think it is just a mental game."
