CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT FROM NEIL AHERN

Kristoffer Broberg’s meteoric rise on the European Challenge Tour continued at the Norwegian Challenge as the Swede took one step closer to a sensational double with a seven under par third round of 65, which moved him one shot clear on 20 under going into the final day.
Broberg, who emerged victorious at the Finnish Challenge last week with an imperious six shot win, threatened to run away with his second title in as many weeks when he negotiated the front nine at Byneset GK in an incredible seven under par.
That included two eagles, at the par five first and par five seventh, and birdies at the third, fourth and sixth at the Trondheim venue.
He picked up another shot at the 13^th hole to move four shots clear of the field but a wayward second shot which resulted in a bogey at the par five 17^th, allied with a late rally from playing partner Alvaro Velasco, meant Broberg finished the day just a single shot clear of the Spaniard.

“I played really well on the front nine and I was delighted to reach the turn in 29 but I was driving quite badly on the back nine so that cost me,” said Broberg, who won a 54-hole satellite tour event in Norway last year with a stunning overall score of 25 under par.

“I was hitting the ball really well early on and I holed a few putts so it was nice. I hit a nice drive on the first hole and a three wood to eight metres and holed it. Then I hit driver and rescue to four metres at the seventh and holed that too so it was nice to play so well at the par fives.

“I just didn’t trust the driver on the back nine. I had no confidence in the driver and that affected my confidence with other parts of my game so I'm going to work on that tomorrow.

“I'm still really confident going into tomorrow because I'm hitting my irons really well and putting well. It would be great to get another win on the board.”

Velasco, meanwhile, looked to be out of the contest as he was six shots off the pace at the turn after bogies at the fourth and fifth holes offset his birdies at the first and seventh but a superb five under par back nine launched him right back into the hunt for a third Challenge Tour title.

“The back nine was really nice,” said the 2010 Challenge Tour Rankings winner. “I got some momentum going and it was great to finish like that.

“Kristoffer was doing amazing and got off to such a great start. I struggled a little bit on the front nine so I needed a good back nine to have a chance tomorrow because I was so far behind. I'm really happy with the position I'm in now though and it’s going to be close tomorrow but really enjoyable.”

Oliver Wilson is still in with a chance of securing a first career title but he slipped four shots back having led overnight alongside Velasco, after a two under par 70 left him on 16 under par.

The former Ryder Cup player had a positive front nine with four birdies and a bogey helping him to a three under par front nine but he struggled on the way back and bogeys at the 11^th and 18^th along with a birdie at the 17^th meant he finished the day in third place.

The highest placed Norwegian going into the final day was amateur Anders Engell, who wowed the crowds with a seven under par round of 65, which elevated him 27 places up the field into tied sixth on 14 under par, while England’s Matthew Southgate carded the best round of the day with a nine under par 63 moving him to sixth place alongside Engell having begun the day in 56^th spot.

Chris Doak’s impressive run of form continued at the Norwegian Challenge as the Greenock man carded a four under par third round of 68 to enter the final day in tied ninth spot on 13 under par.

He was joined by Steve O’Hara after a three under 69 also moved him into the top ten, although the two were seven shots off the lead set by in-form Swede Kristoffer Broberg.

Doak reached the turn in three under par thanks to birdies at the first, fourth and fifth holes before two more gained shots at the 14^th and 17^th allied with a single bogey at the 15^th boosted his chances of a fifth top 20 finish in his last seven appearances on both the Challenge Tour and The European Tour.

“I got off to a good start but it was a little frustrating today,” said Doak, who recorded his best finish on The European Tour at the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity recently, when he was tied sixth.

“I couldn’t hole the putts even though I was getting the line, they just came up short. I played well though. I don’t feel like I'm striking it great but I got it round well and left a lot of putts short.

“I've been playing well the last couple of months. It’s just been building up recently. I've always had the confidence but the long irons and the short game is better and mentally I'm better now too.”

O’Hara’s round came after a perfect start with an eagle three at the first but he followed that with a bogey before two birdies took him to the turn in three under. He exchanged two birdies and two bogeys on the way back to put himself in the running for a top five finish in just his second Challenge Tour start of the season.

Andrew McArthur dropped way back on a disappointing day for the 33 year old as a two over par round of 74 left him in tied 46^th while Gavin Dear also carded a 74 to finish the day in tied 62^nd place.

Meanwhile, Broberg’s meteoric rise on the European Challenge Tour continued as the Swede took one step closer to a sensational double with a seven under par third round of 65, which moved him one shot clear on 20 under going into the final day.

SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)

196 K Broberg (Swe) 67 64 65,

197 A Velasco (Esp) 65 65 67,

200 O Wilson (Eng) 68 62 70,

201 A Bernadet (Fra) 69 64 68, R Echenique (Arg) 69 65 67,

202 J Dantorp (Swe) 70 65 67, M Southgate (Eng) 74 65 63, A Engell (am) (Nor) 69 68 65,

203 S O'Hara (Sco) 67 67 69, B An (Kor) 68 67 68, C Doak (Sco) 69 66 68, G Stal (Fra) 68 66 69, A Domingo (Esp) 72 67 64,

204 V Riu (Fra) 67 69 68, K Borsheim (Nor) 70 68 66, M Tullo (Chi) 67 68 69, A Kaleka (Fra) 68 68 68, S Brown (Eng) 69 66 69, D Geminiani (Ita) 69 66 69, J Senior (Eng) 67 68 69, C Lloyd (Eng) 68 68 68, M Crespi (Ita) 73 66 65,

205 M Glauert (Ger) 69 69 67, S Kim (Kor) 70 66 69, F Praegant (Aut) 69 67 69, J Walters (RSA) 70 68 67,

206 D Ulrich (Sui) 70 68 68, A Högberg (Swe) 68 70 68, B Koepka (USA) 68 70 68, M Haines (Eng) 66 72 68, B Chapellan (Fra) 69 68 69, E Bertheussen (Nor) 68 68 70, M Delpodio (Ita) 67 69 70, A Tadini (Ita) 67 71 68,

207 D Küpper (Ger) 70 67 70, F McGuirk (Eng) 72 67 68, H Bacher (Aut) 70 67 70, S Walker (Eng) 70 68 69, L Richard (Bel) 70 68 69, M Eliasson (Swe) 71 66 70, G Lockerbie (Eng) 69 67 71, N Kearney (Irl) 70 67 70, A Otaegui (Esp) 67 69 71, P Gustafsson (Swe) 69 69 69, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 68 68 71,

208 S Wakefield (Eng) 71 68 69, A Perrino (Ita) 70 69 69, T Ferreira (RSA) 71 67 70, J Mommo (Fin) 70 67 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 67 70 71, A McArthur (Sco) 67 67 74, S Jeppesen (Swe) 70 69 69, N Dougherty (Eng) 72 67 69,

209 G Clark (Eng) 70 69 70, J Busby (Eng) 68 68 73, R McGowan (Eng) 70 69 70, M Nixon (Eng) 70 67 72,

210 J Rask (Swe) 69 69 72, C Aronsen (Nor) 73 65 72, K Eriksson (Swe) 71 68 71, A Kristiansen (Nor) 73 66 71,

213 E Kofstad (Nor) 71 68 74, G Dear (Sco) 69 70 74,