Sunday 29 May 2016 18:21, UK
Scott Hend eagled the 18th for the second day running to snatch the third round lead at the BMW PGA Championship as Danny Willett endured a torrid back nine at Wentworth.
Tyrrell Hatton had looked likely to be the outright leader heading into the final day after his magnificent 66 propelled him into the clubhouse lead on eight under, but Hend atoned for three straight bogeys from the 13th with a stunning second to three feet at the last.
The Australian knocked in the putt to move ahead of Hatton on nine under, while Lee Westwood's flawless 68 lifted him within two of the lead as Willett plummeted to six under after dropping five shots over the last 10 holes.
Hatton was the big mover amid glorious conditions and bumper crowds lining the fairways of the West Course on day three, propelling himself 22 places up the leaderboard after he reeled off five birdies in seven holes to storm home in 32.
The in-form Englishman, whose top-five finish at the Irish Open last week was his best of the season, had started the round eight shots behind halfway leader Willett and was just one under for the day through 10 holes before igniting his charge with three consecutive birdies.
Hatton picked up further shots at the 16th and 17th, and a par at the last completed his first sub-70 round in the tournament as he finished over two hours ahead of the final pairing.
Westwood defied the pain of an ankle injury he sustained while running on Tuesday morning, making birdies at the fourth and fifth and scrambling hard for pars until he finished with a flourish, with birdies at 17 and 18 completing the only round of the day without a bogey.
But while Hatton and Westwood prospered, Willett struggled with his all-round game from the moment he blocked his first tee shot into the right rough, although he managed to open with four straight pars before rolling in a good putt for birdie at the short fifth.
However, the Masters champion began his slide with a run of three consecutive bogeys around the turn and, after he steadied the ship with four pars, he dropped further shots at 16 and 17 for the second straight day.
Willett did well to get up and down from sand at the last to salvage a par and a round of 76, while Hend lifted himself back to the top of the leaderboard with another fantastic finish.
The Australian also had to scramble hard for pars over the first half of his round, and he followed a bogey at seven with his first birdie of the day at the 11th before he came to grief after a poor drive into the trees on the left of the 13th fairway.
Attempting to pitch back out to the fairway, Hend's ball bounced off a tree and ended up a few yards behind him, but he extracted himself at the second try and then clipped a superb wedge to four feet and holed the putt to limit the damage to a bogey.
Hend then dropped shots at the next two holes to slip one behind Hatton, but his stunning strike to the last green pitched in the right rough and trickled onto the green to within three feet of the cup to set up another closing eagle.
Westwood was joined at seven under by former US PGA champion YE Yang, who did not come close to emulating his putting prowess of the first two days as he carded a 75 littered with five bogeys against two birdies.
Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer made a significant early move when he eagled the fourth either side of a pair of birdies, but a double-bogey six at the 11th halted his momentum and he also dropped shots at 16 and 17 before a birdie at the last rounded off his third 70 of the week.
The German shares fifth on six under with Chris Wood, who birdied three of the first six holes and picked up two more shots on the back nine to return a 68, while Julien Quesne birdied the final three holes to sign for a 67.
English journeyman Robert Dinwiddie (72) is a further stroke adrift along with former Ryder Cup star Peter Hanson, while the in-form Rafa Cabrera-Bello - the second highest-ranked player left in the field, goes into the final round five shots behind Hend.
