If David Gleeson has another Groundhog Day, the rest of the field would be better off playing in the ubiquitous casinos that dot every corner of this city than turning up for the third round of the Macau Open today.
The on-fire Australian fired a second successive seven-under-par 64 for a halfway total of 128 to take a commanding five-shot lead. The others can only hope his dream form won't last at the Macau Golf and Country Club.
But Gleeson insists he has more magic in his armoury as he sets his sights on winning the US$500,000 event and claiming only his second win on the Asian Tour.
'I'm in the box seat right now and my aim is to win this tournament by as many shots as I can,' said Gleeson, who is hoping to carry this form into the lucrative HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, in a fortnight.
Tied in second place on an aggregate score of 133 were India's Anirban Lahiri, Yasin Ali of England, Lin Wen-tang of Taiwan and birthday boy Adam Blyth from Australia. Blyth turned 27 yesterday and celebrated it with a six-under 65. But Gleeson took the cake.
Unlike on the opening day where he carded an error-free round, Gleeson showed he is human, too, with one bogey yesterday. It made his overall effort even more impressive as he rolled in eight birdies in a stunning putting display. The performance even left Gleeson a trifle bemused.