"It's always nice to finish on a high like that," he said. "I didn't hit a great wedge shot into the green so Ping g20 irons + ping g20 driver
was nice to sink the putt.

"I played very steady and I putted quite nicely. The only mistake I made was missing a short putt on the seventh so I made a bogey. But overall it was a nice round with not many mistakes. I had a couple of wayward drives but nothing serious and I felt very comfortable.

"I made a couple of long putts but all the others were from inside ten feet or so. Overall it was very steady and pretty good.

"Hopefully I can keep this going and be in contention going into the final round." Ping g20 irons + ping g20 driver


31-year-old Whiteford had five top-10 finishes on tour last year, including a third place at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and finished 63rd in the Race to Dubai. Coming off two missed cuts in Qatar and Dubai in the last two weeks, his 66 on Thursday signaled a welcome return to form.

Canizares started his European career with a bang, winning the 2006 Russian Open in only his third start as a professional. In 2010, he narrowly missed out on two other victories after twice making it into play-off. He first lost to Peter Hanson at the Iberdrola Open and then to Miguel Angel Jimenez at the French Open.

Former Open champion John Daly, fresh off a top-five finish in Qatar two weeks ago, had a disastrous day. At the 14th, he needed two penalty drops from the trees, resulting in a triple-bogey eight at the 14th.