Nebraska's Friesen takes 54-hole lead in New Zealand

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Steve Friesen started Saturday one shot back but quickly jumped to the lead with four birdies in his opening five holes

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand -- Steve Friesen fired a 3-under-par 69 Saturday to move into first place after 54 holes of the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship. Friesen's 11-under 205 total is one stroke better than New Zealand's Steve Alker (67) and Australian Kurt Barnes (71).

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Five players are tied for fourth place, including Americans Ryan Hietala and Craig Bowden, as well as reigning U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee, an 18-year-old from New Zealand.

Three players, including Barnes, shared the 36-hole lead at 9 under and steady winds of 10-20 mph kept the lead from advancing too much further under par at the Clearwater Resort.

Friesen started the day one back but quickly jumped to the lead with four birdies in his opening five holes to set the pace at 12 under.

"It was good to get off to that start," said the overnight leader. "It settles you down a bit when you see the ball going into the hole."

Friesen, a Nebraska native, admitted afterward that he feels comfortable playing in the wind, which had been fairly calm for the opening 36.

"The wind just blows there," said the former Cornhusker of his home state. "There's nothing to stop it. You learn to choke down on the club and hit a lot of three-quarter iron shots. This was just an average day in Nebraska."

Average except for the fact that the Southern Alps are looming in the distance, less than an hour away.

"I like this course," said Friesen. "It's similar to the ones I grew up on. It feels like the Midwest, except for those mountains."

Alker, a former Nationwide Tour player who has spent the past couple years up and down on the European Tour, made a quiet move up the board by matching the day's best round with his 67.

"I was pretty well in control most of the day," said the 37-year-old who still maintains a home in the Phoenix area. "My only real scramble of the day came at No. 2, where I needed to make an 8-footer for par. This week I've been staying patient, sticking to my guns and picking my targets. I've also been trying to have a little bit of fun."

He had a bundle of fun at the 421-yard sixth hole, where he holed his second shot from 185 yards for an eagle-2.

"It's not everyday you hole a 4-iron from the fairway," he said.

Barnes rejoined the fray late in the day, dropping birdies at Nos. 16 and 18 to get back within one of the lead, which he held outright after an opening 64. Barnes had fallen as many as four shots back when he suffered his fourth bogey of the day at No. 13. He righted the ship and joined the final threesome Sunday with a 6-foot birdie putt.

Hietala, who had gone 0-for-7 in making the cut in Australia and New Zealand before this week, also moved into contention with an early string of three consecutive birdies starting at No. 2.

"Normally the wind is not my friend," said the 6-foot-5 transplanted Idahoan. "I struggle in the wind. I always have. Today, I told myself to stay tall, stand tall and trust it. It's amazing what happens when you trust it.

"I hit some wayward shots but my good ones were good and my bad ones weren't so bad. All in all, good speed on my putts and it added up to 3 under with a chance to win."

Third-Round Notes: A total of seven countries were represented in Round 3. Australia's 29 players top the list, followed by the United States (23) and New Zealand (7). Canada, England, South Africa and Norway had one each. ... David McKenzie, playing in the second group off the tee, posted the day's best round, a 5-under 67. He was later matched by Kiwi Steven Alker. McKenzie improved his standing from a tie for 44th to a tie for ninth. ... Steven Alker's round of 67 was the only bogey-free round of the day. ... Saturday's scoring average was 72.426, the first time in three days that the average has been above par. ... Sunday's pairings will be in threesomes off the first tee. The times will run from 8:10 to 11:45 a.m. local time with an expected local finish time of 4:45 p.m.