Wood surges into the lead

Last updated: 25th January 2013

Chris Wood surged into the lead after the third round of golf at the Qatar Open on Friday.

Wood, who has never won on the European Tour before, carded an eight-under-par 64 on Friday, to secure a three shot lead over Simon Khan heading into the final day.

Wood, who is on 15-under-par for the tournament, leads Ryder Cup stars Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, who were among the overnight leaders at the tournament.

However, the third round wasn't much fun for them, as they slipped back to 5th and 11th positions respectively.

The highlight of Wood's round was an eagle on the 548-yard tenth.

The world number 142 had already notched five birdies, but an eight foot putt lifted him clear of the field, where he stayed for the rest of the round.

After a three-putt bogey at the 12th he came back with a six foot birdie putt two holes later and pitched even closer on the 307-yard 16th.

"I'm very excited. I wouldn't say it was one of my best rounds, but I played very solidly and was giving myself loads of chances," said Wood on Friday.

"Going out today I thought as long as I kept myself in the mix going into tomorrow, then I was going to be really looking forward to it. Leading gives me a bit of a cushion," he added.

"Obviously it's going to be hard. It's hard to win any tournament on The European Tour, so it's going to be difficult."

Khan had a phenomenal day at the office after he birdied six of the first seven holes and eight of the first 13, to race up the leaderboard.

"It's been a tough couple of years since winning at Wentworth and it's amazing that the feelings start to come back quickly," said the 40-year-old Khan.

South African Branden Grace is fifth on the leaderboard, while Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen are in 31st and 15th positions respectively.