Ernie Els had to battle hard to remain in a share of the lead during the third round of the Hong Kong Open.
Four-time Major winner Els had marked his 45th birthday with a second round 65 to establish a two shot halfway lead, but Australian Scott Hend wipe that out with birdies from 25 feet on the first and 15 feet on the second.
Hend then completed an opening hat-trick of gains by reaching the green in two at the long third, but Els got up-and-down from a bunker at the same hole to join him on ten under par.
Els bogeyed the fifth after a wayward tee shot at the par three, and although Hend dropped a shot at the eighth, worse was to come for The European Tour’s leading career money earner.
Making his tournament debut this week, Els drove into bushes down the left of the ninth and ran up a double bogey.
That allowed early starters Jbe Kruger and Mark Foster to claim the outright lead on nine under with matching rounds of 66, and they were joined by Australian Marcus Fraser, who was three under through 15 holes.
Els then re-joined the group with an eagle from three feet at the par five 13th after a brilliant fairway wood approach, with Hend, Angelo Que, Jyoti Randhawa, Raphaël Jacquelin and Javier Colomo a shot behind.
Fraser, whose last European Tour appearance came back in February before a hand injury wrecked his season, went to ten under with a birdie at the 16th, but Els joined him after pitching to five feet at the 14th.
