Tampines, Singapore (SportsNetwork.com) - Anders Hansen posted a 5-under 67 on Saturday and he joined Panuphol Pittayarat in the lead after three rounds of The Championship at Laguna National.
Pittayarat carded a 3-under 69 in round three as he and Hansen ended 54 holes at 16-under-par 200.
Robert-Jan Derksen matched Hansen's 67 to move into a share of third place at minus-14. Derksen stands alongside David Lipsky (70) at Laguna National Golf & Country Club.
Gregory Bourdy (67) and Chris Wood (68) share fifth at 13-under 203, while Terry Pilkadaris fired a 6-under 66 to gain a share of seventh at 12-under 204. He was joined there by Felipe Aguilar (72), Rahil Gangjee (71) and Tommy Fleetwood (69).
Hansen, whose last tour win came at the 2009 Joburg Open, opened his round with a 6-foot birdie putt at the first. He cruised to six straight pars from the second, before moving to 13-under with a 12-foot birdie effort on the par-3 eighth.
The Dane once again reeled off six pars in a row from the ninth. Hansen birdied the 15th from 25 feet out. He followed with birdies on 16 and 17 to gain a piece of the lead at minus-16 and cap a bogey-free round.
"I'm very pleased. I didn't hit the ball that great today, but I made a couple of good putts on the last few holes," Hansen stated. "I hit a lot of greens, but I just didn't hit it as close as I have done the last couple of days. It was nice to finish with those three birdies. It was a little more windy today so it was more tricky. It was a great finish."
Pittayarat parred the first three holes before making birdie on the fourth. He ran off eight straight pars from the fifth to remain at 14-under.
At the 13th, Pittayarat ended his string of pars with a birdie. He birdied the par-5 15th for the third round in a row and made it two in a row as he birdied No. 16. However, Pittayarat stumbled to a bogey on the 17th to slip back into a share of the lead.
"I came into this week missing three straight cuts on the Asian Tour this season. My performance so far this week has definitely given me a boost in confidence," said Pittayarat. "Whatever happens, happens tomorrow. I will just try and play my own game."
Aguilar briefly took the lead with back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, but he followed with a double bogey on the par-4 13th.
NOTES: Hansen, a three-time European Tour winner, is playing his fourth event after a six-month absence due to wrist surgery ... Hansen has won just once in five previous tries when owning at least a piece of the 54-hole lead ... Pittayarat owns a piece of the 54-hole lead for the first time in his career.
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