Jeev slips to tied 14th at Mizuno Open

Okoyama, Jun 25 (UNI) Gunning for a top-four finish to book his spot in the The Open next month, Jeev Milkha Singh returned a disappointing level-par card to slip to the tied 14th spot after the penultimate round of the Mizuno Open here.

The Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit leader hit three birdies and an equal number of bogeys to be eight strokes shy of leader Hur Suk-Ho of Korea.

The seasoned pro did not have the best of starts, hitting a bogey on the fourth hole. However, he made up for the slip with a birdie on the eighth.

Even-par at the halfway mark, Jeev started his backward journey with a birdie on the ninth but again let the advantage slip with a bogey on the next. He gained a shot on the 11th to undo the damage but a bogey on the 16th denied him a chance to finish under-par.

Singh has a three-day total of five-under 211 and would need a vastly improve show in the final round for a spot in The Open Championship at the Royal Liverpool next month.

At the top, Suk-ho took the lead when he fired his best round of six-under 66 -- studded with seven birdies against a lone bogey -- to take his three-day total to 13-under 203.

The 32-year-old Korean is three strokes ahead of David Smail (68) of New Zealand and Fijian Dinesh Chand (70) who were in joint second place.

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