FLYING DUTCHMAN LEADS AT CARTON AFTER FLAWLESS SIX-UNDER-PAR 66

 

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR

In-form Dutchman Joost Luiten is in pole position to capture a second European Tour victory in four weeks, after a flawless six under par 66 gave him a one shot lead going into the final round of the Irish Open.

Wearing a green polo shirt, Luiten received plenty of support from the Irish galleries and the 27 year old responded by finding his touch with the putter to move to 13 under par, edging ahead of another two-time European Tour champion, Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal, who also signed for a 66.

Luiten arrived at Carton House with his confidence buoyed by his victory in the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity at the start of the month. That win in Austria came in between an 11^th place finish in the Nordea Masters and a share of tenth place in last week’s BMW International Open, and Luiten’s magnificent month seems destined to continue over the Montgomerie Course. 

“I’ve been playing good the last few weeks and I just need to go out there tomorrow and try to do the same,” he said. “Hopefully that's enough to win the trophy.

“But there is still a lot of golf to be played, so I think that you have to be patient and take it easy and take it one shot at a time.

“It's always good to already have a win under your belt.  It makes things easier.  I think you can maybe go a little bit more for the win because you have one in the bag already.  You've got nothing to lose, and that's how I'm going to go out there tomorrow, and hopefully will play like I did today.”

Like Luiten, Larrazábal kept the bogeys off his card and he is relishing a final day battle with the Dutchman, having also experienced some warm support from the Irish fans, in particular from the grandstand enveloping the par three 17^th hole, known as ‘Open House @ 17^’.

“I've never seen something like we had on 17,” said Larrazábal. “It's lovely to play with this atmosphere.    That 17th green is an amazing experience, and they were cheering for me, so I love it.

“I've been playing well. I feel that I'm hitting the ball good, and I have to fight for the tournament.  I hope tomorrow I can hit the ball as good and hole as many putts.”

Joint overnight leader Robert Rock, who lost to Shane Lowry in a play-off at the 2009 Irish Open, is in third position on ten under par after a 71, while compatriot Paul Casey, the former Ryder Cup Player, is a further shot back following an impressive 67.

Peter Lawrie is the leading Irishman in a share of 18^th position on six under par after a round of 67, while Carton House Touring Professional Lowry is a shot further back after signing for a two over par 74.

ALL THE THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

Par 216 (3x72)
203 J Luiten (Ned) 67 70 66,

204 P Larrazábal (Esp) 69 69 66,

206 R Rock (Eng) 69 66 71

207 P Casey  (Eng) 68 72 67, S Henry  (Sco) 74 64 69,

208 O Floren  (Swe) 66 71 71, A Quiros  (Esp) 72 68 68, P Whiteford (Sco) 71 68 69, R Santos  (Por) 71 66 71, J Olazábal (Esp) 68 69 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 69 69 70,

209 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 70 71 68, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 69 70 70, P Uihlein  (USA) 67 68 74, A Cañizares  (Esp) 71 69 69, J Donaldson (Wal) 69 71 69, T Björn (Den) 68 71 70,

 210 A Hansen (Den) 69 70 71, P Lawrie (Irl) 72 71 67, R Sterne  (RSA) 73 70 67,

 211 D Gaunt (Aus) 71 68 72, A Dodt (Aus) 68 74 69, J Lara (Esp) 71 70 70, A Sullivan (Eng) 72 72 67, M Warren (Sco) 69 75 67, G Shaw (Nir) 73 68 70, J Walters (RSA) 72 69 70, S Lowry  (Irl) 67 70 74, A Dunbar (Nir) 70 72 69, A Kaleka  (Fra) 72 68 71,

 212 B Rumford (Aus) 72 71 69, D Willett  (Eng) 73 68 71, G Havret  (Fra) 74 70 68, J Campillo (Esp) 72 68 72, S Thornton (Irl) 69 73 70,

 213 R Bland (Eng) 71 72 70, G Mulroy (RSA) 69 75 69, R Fisher (Eng) 73 70 70, M Ilonen  (Fin) 70 73 70, S Kjeldsen (Den) 71 70 72, A Snobeck  (Fra) 71 71 71,

 214 P Lawrie (Sco) 71 70 73, O Fisher  (Eng) 71 70 73, S Dodd (Wal) 71 70 73, E Grillo (Arg) 73 67 74, E Pepperell (Eng) 71 69 74, S Benson (Eng) 73 71 70,

 215 A Hartø  (Den) 70 72 73, S Power  (Irl) 69 75 71, C Paisley  (Eng) 69 72 74, M Hoey  (Nir) 67 76 72, D Drysdale (Sco) 72 71 72, L Jensen (Den) 72 71 72, S Gallacher (Sco) 72 70 73, P Sjöland (Swe) 73 70 72,

 216 F Molinari (Ita) 73 67 76, J Morrison  (Eng) 73 70 73, G Storm  (Eng) 69 73 74,

 217 S Little (Eng) 71 72 74, J Gonnet  (Fra) 67 75 75, R Derksen (Ned) 73 71 73,

 218 D Mooney (Nir) 74 68 76, M Kieffer (Ger) 70 73 75, R Wattel  (Fra) 74 70 74, E De La Riva  (Esp) 73 71 74, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 77 67 74,

 219 C Del Moral (Esp) 72 72 75, M Baldwin (Eng) 71 73 75, D Howell (Eng) 70 72 77, C Lloyd (Eng) 72 71 76,

 220 C Macaulay  (Sco) 73 71 76, R Finch  (Eng) 71 71 78,