ALLENBY MAINTAINS THE PACE Saturday, 3:50pm His lead has been cut by a shot but Victorian Robert Allenby continues to set the pace midway through the third round of the MFS Australian Open at Moonah Links. Allenby is eight under the card and has a four shot break over a group of four players. He started the day nine under par and dropped to 10 under with a birdie at the par four first, but a mixed front nine saw him reach the turn one over. Behind him, former dual winner Aaron Baddeley, Queenslander John Senden and Paul Sheehan and Nathan Green, both from New South Wales, were in a tie for second. West Australian left-hander Nick O&aposHern and US Tour player Rod Pampling were a further shot back at three under. World No.8 Adam Scott is struggling in the windy conditions and has slipped to two under par following three outward nine bogeys. Veteran Peter Senior and Victorian star Stuart Appleby were also two under the card. ALLENBY STRETCHES LEAD IN MFS OPEN Saturday, 2:10pm Victorian Robert Allenby has wasted little time putting more space between himself and the field at the start of the third round of the MFS Australian Open at Moonah Links. The 1994 winner opened with a birdie three at the first hole to move to 10 under the card. He now holds a five shot edge over his rivals but there was a flurry of movement behind him. While World No.8 Adam Scott started with two steady pars to remain five off the pace he was joined in second spot by former dual winner Aaron Baddeley and Paul Sheehan from New South Wales. Baddeley picked up a shot with a birdie at the third hole while Sheehan rebounded from a bogey five at the second to eagle the par five fourth. Canberra&aposs Chris Scott briefly held a share of second before a bogey at the sixth dropped him back to four under par. Veteran Peter Senior was a shot further back ahead of Nick O&aposHern, Stuart Appleby and fellow US Tour player Rod Pampling. MORE WIND SET TO TEST OPEN LEADERS Saturday, 11:30am A stiff south-westerly is predicted to sweep over Moonah Links today, continuing to make conditions tough for the field in the third round of the MFS Australian Open. Officials came in for criticism yesterday after players in one group claimed the 12th green was virtually unplayable, but the incident co-incided with peak 50kmh gusts which struck at the time. Tournament boss Colin Phillips said today the greens had been watered lightly overnight and early this morning to try to keep the speed of the putting surface under control. Tournament leader Robert Allenby kept his head and shrugged off a nagging hand complaint to retain his lead at the halfway mark. The Victorian, who is chasing his second Open title after winning in 1994, hits off today at nine under the card and four shots ahead of World No.8 Adam Scott. Five players, including former dual winner Aaron Baddeley, are a shot further back at four under the card.
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