Olesen dreams of golf glory in Perth

Thorbjorn Olesen is the man to catch at the Perth International, but he’ll have to overcome the tactical brainpower of the “Korean crew” if is to win the $1.75 million tournament at Lake Karrinyup.

Olesen will enter the final round in pole position at 16-under; three strokes clear of South Korean Sihwan Kim.

England’s James Morrison (12 under), American Peter Uihlein (11 under) and Australian Richard Green (10 under) are also within striking distance, but Kim looms as Olesen’s major threat.

Last year, South Korean Jin Jeong shocked the field to win the Perth International and earn a two-year exemption on the European Tour.

Kim needs to finish in the top two in order to retain his own European Tour card, and he hopes Jeong will be able to give him plenty of advice heading into Sunday’s showdown with Olesen.

“He’s a good friend of mine,” Kim said of Jeong, who missed the cut this time around.

“We’ve known each other for about six or seven years.

“I’m going to have dinner with him tonight – me and my Korean crew.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll have something to say.

“It’s quite funny how last year he didn’t have any status anywhere and ends up winning this tournament and getting a status on the European Tour.”

Olesen plans to retain his attacking mindset for the final day, but he said it would be important to make sure he still has fun.

“For me it’s been a couple of years since I’ve won, so I’ll definitely feel some nerves,” said Olesen, whose only main tour success came at the 2012 Sicilian Open.

“But in the end it’s just golf. Its supposed to be fun to play.

“It’s work, but it’s a great work.

“If you hit a bad shot, you just have to step back and think about it.

“It’s really exciting. I’m looking forward to standing on that first tee and getting that last round going.”

Uihlein was the big mover on Saturday, firing a seven-under 65 to move into outright fourth at 11 under.

Pre-tournament favourites Charl Schwartzel (nine under) and Victor Dubuisson (eight under) will need to fire a sizzling final round if they are to have any chance of stealing victory.

American Jason Dufner, playing his first tournament since recovering from a serious neck injury, finished at seven under.

Second-round leader Peter Whiteford (nine under) fell off the pace after shooting a three-over 75 on Saturday, while first-round leader John Wade (five under) sits equal 29th after failing to follow on from his early heroics.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!