KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's Michael Campbell dropped closer to the tail of the field after a scratchy third round of the US$1.29 million ($1.9m) Malaysian Open golf tournament in a sweltering Kuala Lumpur last night.
After making the cut with a birdie at the 17th in the second round, Campbell
talked about putting together two low rounds - but started poorly with a bogey on the 10th hole (he started on the back nine). He pulled it back to even par by the turn but then promptly took a 6 on the par-four No 1 hole.
There was worse to come - with a bogey five on a par four on the way home and Campbell's round was in grave danger of not recovering from there at the time of going to print last night. He was four over par with three to play, seemingly heading for a 76 and tied for 64th in the 68-man field.
He wasn't the only big name struggling as Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke was on 219 - three over par and one shot better off than Campbell.
Denmark's Thomas Bjorn also found the going tough, at two-over for his round at the time of printing, and tied for 47th. Meanwhile first day leader Robert Rock, of England, added a 78 to his opening round of 66 and then shot a 76 yesterday.
However, some of the European PGA tour golfers in this field began to stake real claims at the top of the field.
Among them was Holland's Robert-Jan Derksen who was on his way to a 66 before a double bogey at the par-3 16th. That dropped him down the leaderboard but he was still handily placed at three under par, equal with Sweden's Peter Hedblom and Scotland's Simon Yates, among others.
Australian David Bransdon made one of the biggest moves, being four under par before dropping a shot late in the piece. Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez led, at seven under, after a hot start to the back nine, one shot clear of consistent Englishman, Marcus Higley.
Campbell, the highest ranked player in the co-sanctioned event, has, like the rest of the field, played in temperatures of over 38 degrees.
After his second round he said: "I wasn't conscious of trying to make the cut but rather I was going out there to make birdies. I'm not here to make the cut, I'm here to win a tournament."
However, his third round did not quite match those statements although, again, he wasn't the only New Zealander to struggle.
Mahal Pearce is sitting out the last two days after the former New Zealand Open champion carded rounds of 79 and 72.
Richard Lee carded a first round 80 and his second round of 79 included a quadruple bogey eight at his eighth hole.
