Lipsky shoots second lowest score of the day at DPWTC

Matt Jones - Editor 23:07 18/11/2017
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  • The American was in red hot form on the third day of the championship.

    He hasn’t won a European Tour event in three years but David Lipsky hopes his lowest round of the year will put him in contention for a first success since 2014.

    Victory has eluded the world number 151 since he beat Graeme Storm to claim the Omega European Masters three Septembers ago, but the American whipped up a storm on Saturday with the second lowest round of the weekend to put him in with a shot of glory.

    Plenty more opponents scored superbly after he finished with a stunning eight under par to eventually take him out of a share of the lead, but Lipsky admitted moving day at the DP World Tour Championship had been “special”.

    “It was great to put everything together today,” said the 29-year-old, who ended up slipping down into a share of 13th with Sergio Garcia and overnight leader Matt Fitzpatrick.

    “I played really well the last round at Nedbank and thought I had something going. I was a little flat Thursday and Friday so it was nice to get it going today.

    “I got my putter hot. I’ve been hitting it good Thursday, Friday and today. I made those momentum putts to keep my round going. That was the difference.

    “I’ve been hitting it great the last few weeks and so to finally put it all together and hole a few putts was really special.”

    Los Angeles native Lipsky started his round with four birdies in a row, and having initially hoped to sneak into the top 10 in Dubai, he admits he may have to now readjust his mindset.

    “It’s definitely time to get excited about winning,” he said, still only five shots off the lead.

    “I’ve been close a few times between then and now (2014), so to be in contention going into Sunday is what it’s all about for me. I’m hitting the ball great and I’ll take that momentum into tomorrow.”

    Addressing his lightening start, he added: “I was talking to my caddie. I said we need to get something going.

    “My goal going into the weekend was to try to sneak out a top-10 but obviously that’s changed a little bit. My caddie had me going pretty good today.

    “A 64 any day is good but to do it on moving day at DP World is huge. I’m looking forward to tomorrow but I’m really satisfied with how I played today.”

    South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli surpassed Lipsky when he signed off with an excellent nine under 63, level with Tyrrell Hatton on Friday, while the likes of Race to Dubai contenders Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood posting sizzling rounds eventually pushed him down into tied 13th.

    But Lipsky still believes he can win here, which would see him climb the rankings and set him up beautifully for next season.

    “The belief is there that I can win, definitely. With how I’ve been hitting it. I’ve been hitting it great the last few days, so if I keep doing that I’ll be right up there.

    “It would be huge to win here. I’ll play Hong Kong next week so take momentum into that and then climb the world rankings and the Order of Merit this year, it would be a big boost for my confidence.

    “I don’t think I made a cut during the regular season. So I’m definitely high on the Access List. But yeah, to play well in one of these events, especially the final event of the year, will be good going into next season.

    “Just looking at the scores right now on the leaderboard, guys are going low today. I’m happy with what I did and it put me in position for tomorrow hopefully, so we’ll see what happens.”

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