LATE FLURRY KEEPS BAKER IN FRONT
IN PORTUGUESE CHALLENGER EVENT

By RODDY WILLIAMS
Press Officer, European Tour

Former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker of England remains on course for back-to-back titles as he takes a one stroke lead into the final round of the Estoril Challenge de Portugal.
Two birdies in the last three holes for a 73 ensured the three-time European Tour champion kept his nose in front of Welshman Jamie Donaldson after a testing day in which strong winds swept across the Quinta da Marinha course, Cascais, about 30 miles to the west of Lisbon.
The 39 year old Baker, who ended a 14 year victory drought when he won last week’s Credit Suisse Challenge, suffered two double bogeys but his strong finish for a nine under par total of 204 gives him the edge over another of the season’s champions, Donaldson, who carded a superb 67.
“If someone offered me a one stroke lead going into the final round, I would have snapped their hand off,” said Baker. “My confidence is high although it took a bit of a dent today. But those two birdies got something out of the day. I now need to play as I did on Thursday and Friday.”
Baker looked to be pulling clear of the field but double bogeys on the tenth, where he got a flier from the rough, and the par three 14th, where again he flew through the green, opened the door for the chasing pack although he remains the man in form.
“Last week’s win was a big relief as it had been a long while, and it has given me something to look forward to,” said Baker, currently 11th on the Challenge Tour Rankings. “Now I am looking forward to the last round. You have to keep giving yourself chances and make it pay. “
Donaldson played magnificently in the ferocious wind, picking up four birdies without dropping a shot. A huge drive hooked around the corner on the sixth left him with only a pitching wedge into the par five to set up his first birdie of the day. Two more shots were picked up on the eighth and ninth, the latter of which came from an impressive four iron tee shot on this tough par three which came to rest a foot from the hole which he tapped in for an outward nine of 32.
KEPT MOMENTUM GOING
But it was the par on the 11th which kept the momentum going in his bid to add the Estoril Challenge de Portugal title to his victory in Guatemala in February. After driving in the water, Donaldson was forced to drop under penalty and found a poor lie in a sandy hole. But from there he hit undoubtedly the shot of the week as he cut a two iron 275 yards over trees which ran up to 25 feet. He holed the par saving putt and went on to birdie the 15th for a back nine of 35 and round of 67.
“I played really well today,” he admitted. “It sometimes takes me a while to get playing really well after a break and this is my third week out after a week off. When I won in Guatemala, that was my third week in a row so maybe that is a good omen."
A second Englishman, Ross McGowan, is only one shot further back on seven under par 206 after a round of 70 while Welshman Stuart Manley and Anthony Tarchetti, another of the English contingent, lie at six under par and only three off the pace.
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 213 (3 x 71)
204 Peter BAKER (ENG) 65 66 73
205 Jamie DONALDSON (WAL) 68 70 67
206 Ross McGOWAN (ENG) 68 68 70
207 Anthony TARCHETTI (ENG) 68 69 70
Stuart MANLEY (WAL) 65 72 70
208 Robert COLES (ENG) 67 67 74
Daniel DENISON (ENG) 70 72 66
209 Kasper Linnet JORGENSEN (DEN) 67 69 73
Pablo LARRAZABAL (ESP) 72 68 69
210 Magnus A CARLSSON (SWE) 72 67 71
Jan-Are LARSEN (NOR) 66 73 71
211 Felipe AGUILAR (CHI) 67 75 69
António SOBRINHO (POR) 71 68 72
Simon ROBINSON (ENG) 73 67 71
212 Eric RAMSAY (SCO) 75 69 68
Inder VAN WEERELT (NED) 73 70 69
Phil WORTHINGTON (ENG) 69 71 72
Van PHILLIPS (ENG) 72 71 69
Martin WIEGELE (AUT) 74 65 73
Alvaro VELASCO (ESP) 71 71 70
Fredrik WIDMARK (SWE) 71 71 70
David PATRICK (SCO) 71 72 69
213 Eduardo DE LA RIVA (ESP) 67 77 69
Marco CRESPI (ITA) 72 71 70
Jamie MCLEARY (SCO) 68 74 71
Stephen SCAHILL (NZL) 71 71 71
214 Sebastian FERNANDEZ (ARG) 69 72 73
Ilya GORONESKOUL (FRA) 69 73 72
Emilio DOMINGUEZ (ARG) 73 70 71
Andrew MCARTHUR (SCO) 69 70 75
Ally MELLOR (ENG) 68 73 73
Andrew OLDCORN (SCO) 76 68 70
Raphaël EYRAUD (FRA) 75 68 71
215 Liam BOND (WAL) 74 69 72
Francis VALERA (ESP) 73 71 71
Hernan REY (ARG) 70 73 72
Kariem BARAKA (GER) 72 72 71
André BOSSERT (SUI) 71 71 73
Soren JUUL (DEN) 70 71 74
Scott HENDERSON (SCO) 75 67 73
Peter KAENSCHE (NOR) 70 72 73
Gustavo ACOSTA (ARG) 69 70 76
Nicola MAESTRONI (ITA) 71 73 71
216 Carlos AGUILAR (ESP) 70 71 75
Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT) 72 68 76
Kevin HARPER (ENG) 73 71 72
Jeppe HULDAHL (DEN) 69 72 75
Kalle EDBERG (SWE) 71 73 72
Tiago CRUZ (POR) 71 68 77
Ben MASON (ENG) 68 72 76
Gary CLARK (ENG) 68 70 78
217 Pedro LINHART (ESP) 71 70 76
Adam GEE (ENG) 68 73 76
Jose LORCA (ESP) 72 72 73
Alejandro VILLAVICENCIO (GTM) 71 71 75
Daniel WARDROP (ENG) 71 72 74
Lorenzo GAGLI (ITA) 69 72 76
218 Manuel QUIROS (ESP) 71 71 76
Murray URQUHART (SCO) 71 71 76
Carlos BALMASEDA (ESP) 70 69 79
219 Jamie LITTLE (ENG) 74 70 75
Alfredo GARCIA-HEREDIA (ESP) 72 72 75
220 Elliot SALTMAN (SCO) 68 74 78
221 David DIXON (ENG) 70 70 81
223 Diego BORREGO (ESP) 72 72 79
225 Kieran STAUNTON (ENG) 70 73 82