AMERICAN LEADS ALSTOM OPEN BY FOUR STROKES

                       Kevin Stadler in action today. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c).

 STADLER FOUR CLEAR IN PARIS
By PAUL SYMES
Kevin Stadler edged ever closer to securing a wire-to-wire victory on his Alstom Open de France debut after opening up a four-shot lead on the third day in Paris.
Stadler carded a one over par round of 72 in testing conditions at Le Golf National to drop back to nine under par, but with his closest pursuers all faltering over the closing holes the American is still in pole position to claim his second European Tour title, having captured the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2006.
Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee defied the blustery showers to sign for a round of 69 which moved him to five under par alongside Victor Riu who, despite a round of 73, remains the host nation’s best hope of taking the €500,000 winner’s cheque.
Two-time Major Champion Martin Kaymer has an outside chance of winning the tournament for a second time after a round of 70 moved the German into fourth place on three under par.

Key quotes:

Kevin Stadler
“I got about what I deserved today. I didn’t play that great, but I made a few nice up and downs for pars. I didn’t have nearly as many looks for birdie as I had over the last couple days, but you can’t expect to play that well for four days in a row.
“So it was just about holding it together today, I knew I didn’t have to do anything crazy to stay ahead. A couple less shots would have been nice today, but overall I’m happy the way it went.”
Thongchai Jaidee
“My driving was not too good today, but I putted very well. I didn’t hit a lot of fairways today but it was tough because the wind was picking up, and the course is tough anyway.
“Maybe I have a small chance tomorrow, we’ll see. You never know what can happen on this course, because it’s very easy to make bogeys and even double bogeys out there.”
Victor Riu
“The back nine is much tougher than the front nine, and I didn’t play so well. So yeah, I’m a little bit frustrated.  I made a bad bogey on 15 with three putts, then 16 was an easy chip but I didn’t make a very good job of it, and on 17 I missed a very short putt for par. But it was important to finish well on 18, so I’m very happy to make a good par because it’s a difficult hole.”
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
  Par 213 (3x71)
 204 K Stadler (USA) 64 68 72
 208 T Jaidee (Tha) 70 69 69, V Riu  (Fra) 68 67 73
 210 M Kaymer (Ger) 72 68 70
 211 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 70 70 71, M Baldwin (Eng) 70 71 70
 212 D McGrane (Irl) 71 69 72, R Karlsson (Swe) 73 69 70, G McDowell  (Nir) 70 69 73, M Hoey  (Nir) 73 66 73, M Foster (Eng) 69 70 73
 213 S Gallacher (Sco) 66 73 74, S Jamieson  (Sco) 69 70 74, A Levy (Fra) 69 72 72, M Nixon (Eng) 71 72 70, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 77 66 70, J Quesne  (Fra) 74 71 68, J Donaldson (Wal) 67 72 74
 214 M Ford (Eng) 70 74 70, W Ormsby (Aus) 70 75 69, D Lynn (Eng) 73 69 72, M Siem  (Ger) 65 72 77
 215 E Goya (Arg) 75 66 74, M Carlsson  (Swe) 73 72 70, J Luiten (Ned) 73 69 73, M Warren (Sco) 69 73 73, T Linard (Fra) 72 70 73, R Kakko  (Fin) 68 74 73, M Korhonen (Fin) 72 72 71, A Hansen (Den) 71 71 73
 216 K Broberg (Swe) 70 74 72, M Manassero (Ita) 68 73 75, G Stal  (Fra) 74 68 74, A Sullivan (Eng) 73 71 72, D Howell (Eng) 72 72 72, F Molinari (Ita) 70 72 74, S Kjeldsen (Den) 72 73 71, D Bobrowski (Fra) 73 70 73
 217 R Fisher (Eng) 72 68 77, J Hansen  (Den) 72 69 76, O Fisher  (Eng) 69 71 77, R Santos  (Por) 71 74 72, S Webster (Eng) 73 68 76, A Gee  (Eng) 72 72 73, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 69 74 74, G Maybin (Nir) 73 68 76, F Aguilar (Chi) 67 73 77, M Lundberg (Swe) 75 68 74, G Bourdy (Fra) 73 72 72
 218 R Sterne  (RSA) 70 75 73, F Zanotti (Par) 73 70 75, S Kapur (Ind) 73 69 76, L Slattery (Eng) 70 73 75
 219 D Huizing (Ned) 72 73 74, E De La Riva  (Esp) 73 71 75, A McArthur  (Sco) 76 67 76, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 70 72 77, S Dyson  (Eng) 73 71 75
 220 J Knutzon (USA) 72 72 76, J Heath  (Eng) 71 73 76, M Kieffer (Ger) 72 73 75, A Kaleka  (Fra) 72 73 75, E Molinari  (Ita) 70 75 75, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 76 68 76, J Brun (am) (Fra) 73 72 75
 221 N Colsaerts  (Bel) 72 72 77
 222 P Waring  (Eng) 71 73 78, S Hansen (Den) 74 70 78
 226 P Sjöland (Swe) 73 71 82



EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS