OLESEN GOES CLEAR BUT SALTMAN CLIMBS TO JT FOURTH
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Thorbjørn Olesen has a fantastic chance to break his European Tour duck after a brilliant 67 at a wind-swept Sicilian Open today
With just five shots separating the 65 players who made the cut, Moving Day was always going to be important at Verdura Golf Resort andSpa and so it proved as 22 year old Olesen moved into a three-shot lead.
The Dane had three runner-up finishes in his rookie campaign last season, but is in prime position to go one better after following a bogey at the sixth with four birdies and an eagle at the long 14th.
Only 18 players were able to break par in the third round, and Olesen’s best-of-the-day round was matched only by Canadian Andrew Parr, who shares second place with big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts as a result.
At one point the wind was so strong that Olesen’s hat blew off, but he defied the conditions to birdie the 18th – the scourge of plenty of players this week.
“It’s definitely one of the toughest holes on the course, especially in the wind,” he said. “It’s important to hit a good tee shot, and luckily I managed to get a great drive down the middle of the fairway. I had a nine iron for my second shot, managed to put it pretty close and hole the putt, which wasn’t easy in the wind. So it was a great finish to the day.
“I struggled a little bit on the front nine, but managed to hang in there and was pleased to pick up two shots after making a bogey on the sixth hole. That got me going a little bit and I was able to make a few more chances on the back nine.
“Sometimes the gusts were so strong, especially on the coast, that you just got blown away. It was tough just to stand up sometimes, let alone play golf.”
Olesen came into the week with some solid form behind him, having notched two top-ten finishes in six starts, with just one missed cut in that run.
But the World Number 154 will not be taking anything for granted come Sunday afternoon.
“I know that I’m going to have to play very well tomorrow, because there are a lot of great players up there and you can’t win on The European Tour by playing average golf,” he added.
“My confidence is very high at the moment because of the way I’m playing, and hopefully I can finish the job off. With a bit of luck, the wind will be a little calmer tomorrow. Either way, my short game is going to have to very good.”
Parr was one of only three players to complete a bogey-free round, as he looks to continue the good form he showed when finishing 13th at the Joburg Open in his only previous European Tour appearance this season.
“I think the key to playing well in the wind is hitting solid shots, and luckily enough I managed to do that today,” said the 28 year old. “I kept it in play off the tee and hit a lot of good iron shots, which set up a few birdie chances and I managed to take five of them.”
Colsaerts mixed six birdies with three bogeys in his round of 69, while Lloyd Saltman, Søren Kjeldsen and Peter Lawrie – a leader after the first and second rounds – share fourth on eight under par.
The six halfway co-leaders endured mixed fortunes. Lawrie and Simon Wakefield (74) are the only two in the top ten, as Pelle Edberg (75), Maarten Lafeber (77), David Lynn (79) and Jamie Donaldson (80) slipped into the chasing pack.
Lloyd Saltman, no stranger to playing in the wind, climbed up to joint fourth position on 208 with a 69.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
204 Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 68 69 67.
207 Andrew Parr (Canada) 71 69 67, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 67 71 69.
208 Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) 71 68 69, Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 65 72 71, Pedter Lawrie (Ireland) 64 72 72.
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
213 Craig Lee 67 73 73 (T30)
214 Gary Orr 66 73 75 (T36)
215 Scott Jamieson 68 73 74, Alistair Forsyth 67 72 76 (T40)
216 Richie Ramsay 71 69 76 (T53)
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Thorbjørn Olesen has a fantastic chance to break his European Tour duck after a brilliant 67 at a wind-swept Sicilian Open today
With just five shots separating the 65 players who made the cut, Moving Day was always going to be important at Verdura Golf Resort andSpa and so it proved as 22 year old Olesen moved into a three-shot lead.
The Dane had three runner-up finishes in his rookie campaign last season, but is in prime position to go one better after following a bogey at the sixth with four birdies and an eagle at the long 14th.
Only 18 players were able to break par in the third round, and Olesen’s best-of-the-day round was matched only by Canadian Andrew Parr, who shares second place with big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts as a result.
At one point the wind was so strong that Olesen’s hat blew off, but he defied the conditions to birdie the 18th – the scourge of plenty of players this week.
“It’s definitely one of the toughest holes on the course, especially in the wind,” he said. “It’s important to hit a good tee shot, and luckily I managed to get a great drive down the middle of the fairway. I had a nine iron for my second shot, managed to put it pretty close and hole the putt, which wasn’t easy in the wind. So it was a great finish to the day.
“I struggled a little bit on the front nine, but managed to hang in there and was pleased to pick up two shots after making a bogey on the sixth hole. That got me going a little bit and I was able to make a few more chances on the back nine.
“Sometimes the gusts were so strong, especially on the coast, that you just got blown away. It was tough just to stand up sometimes, let alone play golf.”
Olesen came into the week with some solid form behind him, having notched two top-ten finishes in six starts, with just one missed cut in that run.
But the World Number 154 will not be taking anything for granted come Sunday afternoon.
“I know that I’m going to have to play very well tomorrow, because there are a lot of great players up there and you can’t win on The European Tour by playing average golf,” he added.
“My confidence is very high at the moment because of the way I’m playing, and hopefully I can finish the job off. With a bit of luck, the wind will be a little calmer tomorrow. Either way, my short game is going to have to very good.”
Parr was one of only three players to complete a bogey-free round, as he looks to continue the good form he showed when finishing 13th at the Joburg Open in his only previous European Tour appearance this season.
“I think the key to playing well in the wind is hitting solid shots, and luckily enough I managed to do that today,” said the 28 year old. “I kept it in play off the tee and hit a lot of good iron shots, which set up a few birdie chances and I managed to take five of them.”
Colsaerts mixed six birdies with three bogeys in his round of 69, while Lloyd Saltman, Søren Kjeldsen and Peter Lawrie – a leader after the first and second rounds – share fourth on eight under par.
The six halfway co-leaders endured mixed fortunes. Lawrie and Simon Wakefield (74) are the only two in the top ten, as Pelle Edberg (75), Maarten Lafeber (77), David Lynn (79) and Jamie Donaldson (80) slipped into the chasing pack.
Lloyd Saltman, no stranger to playing in the wind, climbed up to joint fourth position on 208 with a 69.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
204 Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 68 69 67.
207 Andrew Parr (Canada) 71 69 67, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 67 71 69.
208 Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) 71 68 69, Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 65 72 71, Pedter Lawrie (Ireland) 64 72 72.
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
213 Craig Lee 67 73 73 (T30)
214 Gary Orr 66 73 75 (T36)
215 Scott Jamieson 68 73 74, Alistair Forsyth 67 72 76 (T40)
216 Richie Ramsay 71 69 76 (T53)
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Labels: EUROPEAN TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, March 31, 2012
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