AFTER smashing the New Course record on Friday with a seven-under-par 63, Deni Supriyadi predicted he would overtake halfway leader Zhang Lianwei. The prediction seemed far-fetched considering the Chinese golfer had what seemed an insurmountable five-stroke lead. True to his word, the 19-year-old Indonesian student now leads the field after three rounds of the Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship at Fanling. With Zhang faltering to a seven-over-par 77, Supriyadi drained two 25-foot birdie putts on the sixth and 14th greens to finish with a one-under-par 69. Supriyadi, the only player under par after three rounds, now leads Zhang and Singapore's Tomas Manotoc by one stroke heading into today's final round. Supriyadi was four-under par after 15 holes and could have increased his lead but for bogeying the 16th and then double-bogeying the final hole. The third-year business student credited his short game for his turnaround after an opening round of 77. 'My second shots and putts have really been coming through since my poor start,' said Supriyadi. 'I'm also hitting my drives straight and I have good confidence in my swing. The course just seems very open to me these last couple of days and after I saw Zhang stumble it gave me a bit of confidence to know that I could overtake him.' Zhang got into trouble right from the start when he three-putted the first green for a bogey. Things got worse on the par-five third when he topped his drive and hit the fence, ending up with a nine for the hole before recovering for a two-over-par back nine. Pre-tournament favourite Cheng Zun is three shots off the lead after shooting a 73, one stroke ahead of Hong Kong national amateur champion Michael Long.
