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Josh Ball

Thomas Detry thinks Saturday at HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong could be a “birdie fest”, but those who know the way the winds can ruin a round at Fanling might advise the Belgian to be a little more cautious in his predictions.
Mind you, Detry could be forgiven for his confident outlook after a seven-under-par 63 took him to 13 under overall and a shot back from leaders Carlos Ortiz and Dean Burmester.
A day that started with a birdie on the par-3 second and ended with one on the par-4 first was punctuated by regular flourishes with his wedges, although momentum was slowed by a run of five straight pars from the 11th.
“The course is amazing, but all that rain often softens it up a little bit, and it’s just very gettable,” the 4Aces golfer said. “There’s wedges on pretty much every single hole. All the par-5s are reachable.
“Even though I overheard it might be a little bit windy tomorrow, I think it’s going to be a birdie fest, and you’ve just got to keep going really. There’s only one rule: keep making birdies.”

Detry’s performance could not stop his team’s slide down the leaderboard. Third at the start of the day on 13 under, they ended the day down in seventh on 23 under, well behind leaders Smash GC who rode Graeme McDowell’s 63 and Harold Varner III’s 64 to 35 under.
Ortiz’s round of four under kept Torque GC in the running five shots back, while Jon Rahm and Legion XIII put in an ominous performance, with the Spaniards eight-under 62 lifting them into third on 26 under.
McDowell has not had the best of times recently but has found his putting stroke this week, and his hole-in-one on the 192-yard fifth was only slightly marred by a bogey immediately after.
“I think that’s about 15,” he said. “They’re all kind of becoming a bit of a blur over the years. It’s been about 30 years of them. They’re all fun. They’re all special. Nice to do it with a card in your pocket in a tournament.
The round left McDowell 10 under and in a tie for eighth with Varner III. On another packed leaderboard, just five shots separate the top 13 players, and it may need the wind forecast for tomorrow to shake things up.
Burmester, who carded a 64, has made the most of the “easy conditions” over the first two days, but having finished second to Sergio Garcia last year, he knows how that can change.
“It [the wind] changes the whole dynamic,” he said. “Come Saturday and Sunday, it’s going to be a different golf course for sure.”


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Sport

Golf

Thomas Detry enjoys attacking ‘gettable’ Hong Kong Golf Club course, although forecast could make things tricky


Thomas Detry enjoys attacking ‘gettable’ Hong Kong Golf Club course, although forecast could make things tricky.


Jon Rahm

LIV Golf Hong Kong: Detry predicts Saturday ‘birdie fest’ but wind may wreck rounds

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Thomas Detry enjoys attacking ‘gettable’ Hong Kong Golf Club course, although forecast could make things tricky

Thomas Detry enjoys attacking ‘gettable’ Hong Kong Golf Club course, although forecast could make things tricky