Hanson stretches lead as McIlroy stumbles

Third-round leader Peter Hanson made the perfect start Sunday in his bid to win the $7 million BMW Masters as he stretched the gap between him and world number one Rory McIlroy to four strokes early in the final round at Lake Malaren.

Sweden's Hanson, the only man on the victorious European team to draw a Ryder Cup blank four weeks ago, birdied the short par-four second to move to 17-under par for the on-going tournament in Shanghai.

McIlroy, playing alongside Hanson in the final group, left himself with plenty to do to win the $1.16 million first prize as he dropped shots at the fourth and fifth holes to tumble back towards the chasing pack.

On a morning when the air was heavy with pollution and the US Consulate's air quality index was hovering between the highest warning level of "hazardous" and the next worst "very unhealthy", McIlroy, who complained of headaches after his 67 on Thursday because of the lack of clean air, seemed to be feeling the effects again.

AFP