Scott Arnold has chased down overnight leader Michael Hendry with the pair finishing the Victorian Open third round tied for the lead at 9-under the card.

Arnold started the day an interminable six shots behind New Zealander Michael Hendry but with five birdies and just one bogey, on his way to a 4-under 68, he was able to diminish this by the end of the round.

“I had a look at the leaderboard and saw that I was seven back at one stage, he was 12 and I was five but I didn’t really worry about it, I just thought keep playing your game and what happens, happens,” said Arnold.

It wasn’t until late in the round, when Hendry had a string of bogeys, that Arnold had the leader in his sights.

“Through the back nine he hit a couple of loose shots and I was able to hole a few putts to keep going and ended up getting back to level now, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”  

The 26-year old Arnold has played solid golf over the first three rounds which will give him a confidence boost heading into the final round.

“I have been playing really well the last couple of months but haven’t really had any tournaments to play so it’s actually nice to bring the form into a tournament.”

Hendry headed into today’s round knowing that with 36 holes of golf to be played it was possible for someone to catch him.

“I don't feel like I did all that much wrong, just Scotty played really well and that's the nature of the game -- you can get caught pretty quickly and you don't have to do that much wrong.”  

Struggling in the wind, Hendry’s two-over par round featured five bogeys and just two birdies.

“I've driven it poorly all week and today I think the fluky wind made it tougher to hit my irons close and even hit the greens at some stages.

“I just drove it poorly and missed a few putts, whereas the first two days I've been putting really well and holing those eight-footers for par. But it didn't happen today.”

While he may have given up his immense lead Hendry enters the final round still tied for the lead with the Victorian Open firmly in his sights.

“It's not easy winning golf tournaments because you're always going to have a scratchy round at some stage.

“But I'm still in with a chance to win the tournament and I'm still tied for the lead, so the tournament doesn't really start until the back nine on Sunday as they say, so as long as I can find the fairway tomorrow, I'll be fine.”

Sitting three shots back from the leading pair at 6-under the card are Kurt Barnes and Matthew Ballard.

A further three shots back again at 3-under the card is Craig Parry.

The second round of the Women's Victorian Open is currently underway at Spring Valley Golf Club
 
The final round of both Championships will be played at Spring Valley tomorrow (Sunday January 8th). Given the unsettled weather forecast and the number of players that have made each respective cut, play has been structured to commence from via two-tee starts in the morning and afternoon with alternating men’s and women’s groups throughout the day.   
 
The morning field will commence from 7am with the afternoon field to start from 11am. The leading player groups will commence from around 12.10pm to 12.40pm.

Entry to all days of the 2012 Vic Open at Spring Valley is just $8 for a daily adult ticket or $15 for a season pass across the four days. Juniors under 18 years of age are free on all days of the Championship.
 
The 2012 Men’s and Women’s Victorian Opens are proudly supported by the State Government of Victoria and the City of Kingston with major corporate partners Schweppes, Tabcorp, Drummond Golf, Industrial Workforce and Trader Classified.