FLEETWOOD AND GONZALEZ SHARE THIRD-ROUND LEAD AT GLENEAGLES

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Tommy Fleetwood and Ricardo Gonzalez share the lead on 16 under par going  into the final round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, as Fleetwood fired himself into contention for a maiden European Tour title.

After starting the day three shots behind halfway leader Gonzalez, Fleetwood got his third round off to a dream start with a birdie on the first and an eagle on the second, adding five more birdies including three in a row from the eighth hole. 

Although he ran into trouble on the last, having to chip out of the trees after a wayward tee shot, the 22 year old Englishman eventually made bogey and signed for a five under par 67, with Gonzalez retaining a share of the lead following a two under par 70.

Fleetwood, the youngest  European Challenge Tour Number One in 2011 and former World Amateur Number One, struggled in his first season on The European Tour, but he has looked more comfortable this season, making 15 out of 19 cuts and recording two top ten finishes.

He is now relishing the chance to be in the final group on the Centenary Course that will host The 2014 Ryder Cup.

“This is what you spend hours and hours practicing for,” said Fleetwood. “Getting up there in golf tournaments, and obviously on The European Tour, is what you dream about when you're a little kid.

“You want to play on The European Tour, and the Johnnie Walker Championship is a massive event, and it's always one I used to watch.  Now I'm the one leading the golf tournament, and it feels very normal at the moment.

“Hopefully I can keep feeling this calm. I was a bit nervous out there at times and you get little trembly over three or four footers downhill left‑to‑right, but I was coping really well.”

Argentine Gonzalez could not quite replicate the low scoring of his first two rounds, when he produced consecutive 65s, but he recovered from a bogey on the first with birdies at the second, fourth and ninth, picking up another shot on the 16th after bogeying the 11th.
“I think the first two days, I hit it very well from the fairway to the flag,” he said. “I'm happy to make two under par on that course.”

Swede Frederik Andersson Hed enjoyed the same birdie-eagle start as Fleetwood, and he will start the final round just one shot behind the leading pair on 15 under par after an impressive display on the greens in a round of 66.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher kept hopes of a home winner alive, surging up the leaderboard with an eight under par 64 to move to 13 under par, three shots off the pace.

Despite suffering from a bad back, Gallacher carded eight birdies, including six on the back nine, to share fourth place with Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, whose round of 72 suffered a setback with a double bogey five on the 17th hole.

Gallacher’s compatriot Scott Henry is a shot further back following a 67, alongside former Ryder Cup player Ross Fisher, who finished with five birdies in six holes to sign for a 66, and Australian Brett Rumford (69).

THIRD ROUND SCOREBOARD

Par 216 (3x72)

200 R Gonzalez (Arg) 65 65 70, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 68 65 67

201 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 67 66

203 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 65 66 72, S Gallacher (Sco) 71 68 64,

204 R Fisher (Eng) 66 72 66, S Henry  (Sco) 72 65 67, B Rumford (Aus) 66 69 69

205 T Olesen (Den) 71 68 66, S Lowry  (Irl) 68 70 67, P Waring  (Eng) 75 63 67, O Fisher  (Eng) 66 70 69, A Quiros  (Esp) 70 67 68, T Lewis (Eng) 67 71 67

206 M Foster (Eng) 66 67 73, M Baldwin (Eng) 70 70 66, G Havret  (Fra) 67 69 70, E Grillo (Arg) 71 66 69, R Ramsay  (Sco) 69 68 69, D Drysdale (Sco) 71 67 68

207 D Horsey (Eng) 70 68 69, M Madsen  (Den) 70 70 67, J Campillo (Esp) 69 71 67, C Doak (Sco) 69 69 69, C Lee (Sco) 69 67 71, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 69 67, J Parry (Eng) 71 66 70, A Hansen (Den) 70 69 68

208 R Finch  (Eng) 73 67 68, G Boyd  (Eng) 71 69 68, D Howell (Eng) 71 70 67, G Maybin (Nir) 68 70 70, T Jaidee (Tha) 66 69 73, A Levy (Fra) 70 71 67, P Lawrie (Sco) 70 67 71

209 B Koepka  (USA) 68 66 75, J Lagergren (Swe) 68 71 70, F Molinari (Ita) 69 67 73, D Willett  (Eng) 72 69 68, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 71 70, E Kofstad (Nor) 71 70 68, S Wakefield (Eng) 70 71 68, M Southgate  (Eng) 72 68 69

210 M Hoey  (Nir) 68 72 70, M Tullo (Chi) 69 71 70, J Sjöholm (Swe) 68 71 71, A Snobeck  (Fra) 72 69 69, S Dyson  (Eng) 72 67 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 72 66 72, L Jensen (Den) 70 71 69, P McGinley (Irl) 68 71 71, M Nixon (Eng) 68 71 71, S Thornton (Irl) 74 67 69

211 I Garrido (Esp) 66 73 72, M Both (Aus) 69 70 72, G Wright  (Wal) 69 72 70, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 70 72, E De La Riva  (Esp) 68 72 71, J Morrison  (Eng) 72 69 70, G Stal  (Fra) 69 71 71, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 71 69 71

212 R Santos  (Por) 69 72 71, T Levet (Fra) 71 70 71

213 M Jonzon (Swe) 71 70 72, A Sullivan (Eng) 67 73 73, P Lawrie (Irl) 71 67 75, M Wiegele  (Aut) 69 70 74

214 S Hansen (Den) 69 71 74, M Lundberg (Swe) 70 69 75

215 N Fenwick (Sco) 75 66 74, R Jacquelin (Fra) 69 71 75

217 J Olazábal (Esp) 73 68 76

 

 

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS