Paul Casey opened with two birdies and shot a 9-under 63 to take a commanding lead of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship after the third round. Casey added another seven birdies in a bogey-free round that missed the National Course record by one stroke, taking a four-shot lead at 19-under 197. Defending champion Martin Kaymer of Germany shot a 65 to move into second place at 201, but will need something special on Sunday to prevent Casey from securing his first European Tour title since winning here two years ago. England's Graeme Storm was third at 14-under 202 following a round of 69, while compatriot Anthony Wall (69) was a further shot behind. Swedish duo Peter Hanson (66) and Johan Edfors (69) and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen (68) were tied for fifth at 204. Richard Green of Australia, who shared the overnight lead with Storm, imploded with a 76 to sit tied for 28th. Casey began with birdies on the first two holes, then added two more in the front nine. The Englishman was near flawless on the back nine as he picked five more shots. Still, he wasn't ready to declare victory over Kaymer, who like Casey practices at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Martin is very capable of shooting low numbers,” Casey said. “I just want to shoot under-par golf tomorrow, and if you need to worry about the situation down the last couple of holes, then you do. But you don't think about that from the start.” Pernice grabs share of lead American Tom Pernice Junior spectacularly holed out with a pitching wedge from 92 yards to eagle the last and grab a share of the lead in the Sony Open second round on Friday. On a gruelling day of gusting winds and intermittent rain, Pernice struck his third shot at the 18th from the first cut of rough and watched as his ball landed on the green and bounced twice before spinning back into the cup. His dramatic eagle capped a sparkling seven-under-par 63 at Waialae Country Club, earning him a tie for the lead at eight-under 132 with Australian Nathan Green (66). First-round leader Shigeki Maruyama of Japan fired a 68 to lie joint third with American Brian Gay (67) at seven under, a stroke in front of 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson (65) and PGA Tour rookie Webb Simpson (68). Among the big names, Australian world number six Geoff Ogilvy and US Ryder Cup player Boo Weekley carded matching 69s to lie three strokes off the pace at five under. South Korea's KJ Choi, who won last year's title by three shots, was a further two shots back, level with Australian Adam Scott (66) and Britain's Luke Donald (70). The cut was projected to fall at one-over 141 with former major winners Corey Pavin and Rich Beem and US Ryder Cup player JB Holmes likely to miss out.
