Allenby, Sim share lead at Australian Masters

Nov 29, 2008 - 11:10 AM MELBOURNE, Australia (Ticker) -- Robert Allenby and Michael Sim share a two-shot lead after Saturday's third round of an enthralling 2008 Australian Masters at Huntingdale.

Chasing his third Masters title, Allenby landed a rare and precious albatross - only the third on the Australasian Tour in the past 20 years - en route to a 5-under-par 67.

But alongside him at 10-under overall following a 68 is his third-round playing partner Sim, the 24-year-old former world No. 1 amateur who is finally starting to realize his potential after two years disrupted by stress fractures in his lower back.

Huntingdale member Ashley Hall sits alone in third place two shots off the pace following his 68, while Rod Pampling (70), Anthony Summers (71) and Englishman Steve Webster (70) are at 7-under for the tournament.

Seven players either held the lead outright or shared it during the third round, including overnight leader Tim Clark, who surrendered 28 places following his disappointing 4-over 76.

While short on details, Allenby could recollect having scored albatrosses twice before, but never in a setting with so much at stake.

While the 35-year-old agreed his 3-wood from 244 yards on his second shot at the par-5 seventh will be near the top of his career highlights list forever, he insisted it is the big picture that counts.

"The most important thing today was just to put myself in position," Allenby said. "I did a lot of good things out there today so I'm pretty happy with my performance."

Sim's day did not start well, bogeying the first and third holes, and when Allenby's albatross dropped, the West Australian had slipped five strokes behind his playing partner.

But Sim worked his way back into it with birdies at six, seven and eight and began to believe that something special was happening when he dropped a 33-foot putt for eagle at the 606-yard par-5 14th.

"I just hit the ball solid today, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and just gave myself a lot of opportunities," Sim said.

The stakes and the pressure will be ramped up when Sim and Allenby pair up again on Sunday for what Sim believes may develop into matchplay.

"You've just got to stick to your game plan," he said. "It's the first time for me in a final group and that's going to be different.

"There's going to be people out there supporting Robert because he's from Victoria and I've just got to stay in the moment, stay within each shot and if it happens, it happens."

Allenby said he was primed for the contest.

"They all want to take me on, that's the nature of the beast," he said. "I think it's awesome that (Sim) is playing so well. He will be a great player.

"I'm excited for him and looking forward to the challenge that he throws out (on Sunday)."