Rumford widens gap leading into new matchplay format

Australia’s Brett Rumford extended his lead to five shots ahead of the match play finale to the World Super 6 Perth at Lake Karrinyup yesterday.
Rumford extended his margin from two shots at the halfway stage of the European Tour event with a four-under 68 to take the top seeding into today’s new six-hole knockout format.
The top eight players after 54 holes of strokeplay earned a bye into the last 16 on the final day, with the next 16 taking on each other in the first round of the innovative new match play finish.
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who won in Perth last year over 72 holes of stroke play, fired a 67 to finish in the group at 12-under alongside Australians Adam Blyth, Lucas Herbert, Steven Jeffress and Jason Scrivener and Canadian Austin Connelly.
Australia’s Jake Higginbottom took the final seeded spot on count back following a closing 66 that got him to 11-under.
Rumford, who has won five European Tour titles, lost his tour playing privileges last season, but has revelled at his home Lake Karrinyup layout this week.
He bogeyed the first, picked that shot back up on the sixth but a double-bogey on the next left him in danger of dropping out of the top eight.
But back-to-back birdies on the ninth and tenth got him back into the groove and four birdies in five holes from the 13th - sealed with a huge putt on the penultimate hole - gave a flourish to his third round.
Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open winner, has been playing steadily and continued with birdies on the sixth and tenth before he holed from the fairway on the 13th for a spectacular eagle.
Another birdie on the 15th got him to 12-under.
“Match play is a different ball game,” Oosthuizen said.
“Your opponent can start really fast off and you can be in trouble. So it’s all on how your opponent is also going to play.
“So it will be a bit of a different mindset starting out tomorrow. I think from the first hole it will be like playing the last hole of a tournament.
“You need to focus pretty hard to get off to a quick start because it’s only six holes but it should be fun to see how it plays out.”
Scrivener and Connelly were the big movers into the top eight, both firing bogey-free rounds of 66.
Belgian Thomas Detry, England’s Ryan Evans and American Johannes Veerman finished in a group of six at 11 under.