Gavin Moynihan heading for second Irish title 

in four years after brilliant third-round 65

FROM THE IRISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
Gavin Moynihan, last year's Scottish open amateur stroke-play champion and Walker Cup team candidate from The Island Golf Club near Dublin, is on the cusp of his second Irish Amateur Open title in four years after setting a course record of seven-under 65 in today's third round at Royal Dublin's links.

His companion in Sunday's final round will be another young talent from The Island Golf Club, 17-year-old Kevin LeBlanc, who birdied his last two holes to join Moynihan on six under par 210.
The home pair enjoy a four-shot lead over the field, with Jonathan Yates from Naas and Welshman Richard James leading the chasing pack.
Moynihan, a second-year student at the University of Alabama, will be a hard man to beat on a course he has often mastered. The 20-year-old is 10 under for his last 26 holes, having rescued his tournament midway through Friday's second round with three birdies on the back nine.
"I can't really explain how happy I am," said Moynihan. "I've been playing well for a while, I just haven't had the results."
If he does go on to win the title on Sunday, Moynihan can trace his victory back to a birdie on the 13th in Friday's second round. The 2012 champion incurred a trio of double bogeys on his front nine during an afternoon storm that almost blew him out of the tournament. When the going was at its toughest, Moynihan rallied with three birdies in six holes.
Grateful to be greeted by dry, calm conditions this afternoon, Moynihan continued his revival and reached the turn in 30. thanks to his fifth birdie of the round on the par-three ninth. And yet it was a par save on the 11th that proved crucial.
"The 11th hole  was the biggest point in the round for me. I hit a bad tee shot left and laid up. I had six iron for my third shot and missed it right. I chipped it to about 10 feet and made the putt so that was huge," he said.
His only bogey of the round came on the 13th but he was in full stride again with a birdie from eight feet on 16. By that stage he was leading the tournament on five under, having begun the day six shots behind overnight leader Jack Hume.
"Especially the conditions, I needed a good round because I knew Jack and the boys on top would shoot level or one over," said Moynihan. While Hume fell away with  an unexpected 78, Moynihan continued to charge and drained a 25-footer on the 17th for his seventh birdie of the round -- his 14th of the week so far.
A two-putt par on 18 gave him a 65 and a new course record, lowering the mark set by  Lloyd Saltman in 2007, who carded a 66 en route to the title that year.
"It's been coming, the game has been there," Moynihan insisted. And it was his clubmate LeBlanc who emerged as his only rival, thanks to a birdie-birdie finish.
Last year's R ad A Junior Open champion began brightly, picking up birdies on the first two holes to get within one of the lead. 
He remained two under for his round through 16 and then pitched in for birdie on 17. A superb approach just past the flag on 18 set up another birdie to take a share of the lead and set up a fascinating final round pairing with Moynihan.
If the winner does not come from the last group, it will take something special from the chasing pack. Jonathan Yates from Naas is alongside Richard James from Wales in the penultimate two-ball although they have four shots to make up. If the wind gets up tomorrow afternoon, that deficit could be quickly erased.
Second round leader Jack Hume is seven adrift at one over. He dropped four shots in his last seven holes and needs help from those above him to have any chance of making up the leeway on Sunday.
The cut fell at seven over and 50 players made it through.  The first group goes out at 8.09am with the leaders off at 11.45am.
 
+SCROLL DOWN TO READ ABOUT THE SCOTS

 THIRD ROUND SCOREBOARD
  Par 216 (3x72)  CSS 75 76 75
210: Gavin Moynihan (The Island) 69 76 65, Kevin LeBlanc (The Island) 71 71 68
214: Richard James (Wales) 69 74 71, Jonathan Yates (Naas) 72 71 71
215: Rowan Lester (Hermitage) 72 73 70, Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth) 69 75 71, Tom Gandy (Isle of Man) 71 72 72, Cormac Sharvin (Ardglass) 72 71 72
216: Jack McDonald (Scotland) 72 75 69, Colm Campbell Jnr (Warrenpoint) 69 77 70, Lukas Lipold (Austria) 70 73 73, Craig Ross (Scotland) 71 72 73, Evan Griffith (Wales) 69 72 75
217: Jake Whelan (Newlands) 76 72 69, Aaron Grant (Dundalk) 75 72 70, Ewen Ferguson (Scotland) 76 70 71, Dermot McElroy (Ballymena) 70 76 71, Marco Penge (England) 71 73 73, Jack Hume (Naas) 69 70 78
218: Gary Collins (Rosslare) 70 77 71, Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) 72 74 72
219: Marco Iten (Switzerland) 72 76 71, Gary Hurley (West Waterford/MU) 71 76 72, Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) 78 68 73, James Allan (England) 74 72 73
220: Nicholas Poppleton (England) 77 72 71, Jeff Hopkins (Royal Dublin) 70 76 74, Tomas Bessa (Portugal) 72 72 76
221: Shaun Carter (Royal Dublin) 73 77 71, Richard Bridges (Stackstown) 73 77 71, Greig Marchbank (Scotland) 72 77 72, Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park) 74 74 73, Luke Trocado (South Africa) 69 79 73, Seamus Cullen (Slieve Russell) 71 74 76
222: Michele Cea (Italy) 78 76 68, Eugene Smith (Ardee) 77 74 71, Conor O'Rourke (Naas) 73 75 74, Axel Boasson (Iceland) 77 70 75, Sean Flanagan (Co. Sligo) 76 71 75, Damon Coulson (England) 75 72 75, Barry Anderson (Royal Dublin) 74 72 76, Colin Fairweather (Knock) 69 76 77, Tim Harry (Wales) 71 74 77
223: Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little.) 75 77 71, John Ross Galbraith (Whitehead) 70 82 71, Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) 74 76 73, Declan Loftus (Castlebar/mu) 77 72 74, Alex Gleeson (Castle) 76 73 74, Matthew Jordan (England) 74 75 74, Christian Braeunig (Germany) 72 75 76
MISSED THE CUT
224: Markus Habeler (Austria) 72 82 70, Ollie Roberts (Hong Kong) 71 80 73, Marcel Zillekens (Germany) 74 76 74, Jack Pierse (Portmarnock) 74 74 76, John Hickey (Cork) 72 75 77
225: Robin Dawson (Faithlegg/MU) 70 85 70, Connor Syme (Scotland) 71 81 73, Nick Macandrew (Scotland) 77 74 74, Alexander Culverwell (Scotland) 69 76 80
226: Gordon Stevenson (Scotland) 78 77 71, Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) 78 77 71, Murray Naysmith (Scotland) 82 72 72, James Fox (Portmarnock) 79 75 72, William Enefer (England) 70 83 73, Ryan Symington (Lisburn) 74 78 74, Jarand Ekeland Arnoy (Norway) 75 77 74, Mathias Eggenberger (Switzerland) 77 74 75, Ben Best (Rathmore) 77 72 77, Sean Ryan (Royal Dublin) 76 70 80, Marc Nolan (Delgany) 72 72 82
227: Ronan Mullarney (Galway) 76 80 71, Michael Sinclair (Knock) 74 79 74, Seve Prins (Netherlands) 83 69 75
228: Anthony Blaney (Scotland) 75 80 73, Jamie Savage (Scotland) 73 82 73, Stephen Coulter (Warrenpoint) 75 80 73, Kevin Reints (Netherlands) 74 76 78
229: Claudio Consul (Germany) 75 80 74, Colin Baird (Scotland) 77 76 76
230: Gary McDermott (Carton House) 76 82 72, Michael Hegemann (Germany) 78 79 73, Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 74 80 76
231: Cedomir Ilic (Serbia) 80 77 74
232: Simon Bryan (Delgany) 75 84 73, Eoin Leonard (Wentworth) 77 81 74, Jack Bush (Wales) 79 79 74, Paul Coughlan (Moate) 83 75 74, Kyle McCarron (North West) 72 86 74, Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little.) 73 81 78, Stephen Healy (Carton House) 77 76 79
233: Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) 78 80 75, Edward Richardson (England) 76 81 76, Scott Gibson (Scotland) 73 80 80
234: Michael Hirmer (Germany) 73 88 73, Gianmaria Rean Trinchero (Italy) 77 84 73, Ian O'Rourke (Royal Dublin) 76 83 75, James Smedley (England) 78 80 76, Ashley Mason (England) 82 74 78
235: Sigot Lopez (Spain) 77 82 76, Declan O'Neill (Carton House) 77 80 78, Mark Morrissey (Mount Wolseley) 72 84 79
236: Shane McGlynn (Carton House) 81 82 73, Michael Ludwig (Austria) 74 84 78, Robert Cannon (Balbriggan) 76 81 79, Andy Borg (Malta) 75 80 81
237: Adam Wilson (Wales) 75 81 81
239: Gavin Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick) 79 82 78, Roy Connolly (Palmerstown Stud) 80 80 79, Christopher MacLean (Scotland) 75 85 79, Petr Dedek (Czech Republic) 81 79 79
242: Shaun O'Connor (Carton House) 75 85 82
245: Casper Simberg (Finland) 85 80 80
246: Mel Loetscher (Switzerland) 81 90 75, Jan Szmidt (Poland) 76 91 79
249: Thomas Hackett (USA) 84 90 75
 Withdrew: Vitor Lopes (Portugal) 72 84 WD, Johannes Lube (Germany) 79 89 WD, Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) 79 WD
No Returns: John McGinn (Laytown and Bettystown) 82 78 
NR, John Morris (Rosslare) 76 NR


   

Sean Marc beats Stephen Smith in Lothians final

Broomieknowe Golf Club's Sean Marc is the new Lothians champion. The 23-year-old beat Stephen Smith (West Lothian) by one hole in this afternoon's (SAT) final at Musselburgh.

Marc is the first Broomieknowe club member to win the Lothians title since Kevin Hastings in 1989

Marc trailed in the early stages of the final but after squaring the match he won the 11th and 12th to go two up.

Three putts at the 15th cost Marc the hole and halved his lead..

Still one down playing the 18th, Smith faced a 6ft birdie putt which he had to hole to square the contest and go into extra holes. But his ball slid past the hole.

TODAY'S RESULTS

Semi-finals

Stephen Smith (West Linton) bt Sean McGarvey (Glencorse) 1 hole

Sean Marc (Broomieknowe) bt Lewis Bain (Musselburgh) 4 and 2

Final

Marc bt Smith 1 hole

Kirk pushes to front at Players Championship,

 McIlroy is four shots back

FROM CBS SPORTS.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida -- Chris Kirk bounced back from a rough patch with three straight birdies to take a one-shot lead at The Players Championship going into a final round that is very much up for grabs.
Kirk had a 4-under 68 and had the lead to himself after Kevin Na three-putted for a double bogey on the 18th hole.
Sixteen players are separated by three shots going into the final round on a TPC Sawgrass course that can be punishing and rewarding at any minute and on any hole.
Rory McIlroy is among those four shots behind after a 71 for 21o.
Tiger Woods was nowhere to be found. He had a pair of double bogeys on par 5s - that's a first for him in his career - and matched his worst score at Sawgrass at 75. 
Sergio Garcia moved up to 208 with a 67.
Stephen Gallacher has scored 72-70-70 for 212, the same tally as defending champion Martin Kaymer
Russell Knox has shot 72-70-72 for 214.
 

 TO VIEW ALL THE THIRD-ROUND SCORES

CLICK HERE

Moynihan v LeBlanc for home win in Irish 

open amateur at Royal Dublin on Sunday

Scots Jack McDonald, Craig Ross and Ewen Ferguson are all within the leading 15 players going into Sunday's final round of the Irish men's open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Royal Dublin.

But it looks a straight fight between two Irishmen who are both members of The Island Golf Club, Gavin Moynihan, last year's Scottish open amateur stroke-play champion, and rising young star Kevin LeBlanc for the title.

Locked together on six-under-par 210 after three rounds, they lead the field by four strokes.

Moynihan has had rounds of 69, 76 and 65; LeBlanc 71 71 and 68.

Top Scots Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) (72-75-69) and Craig Ross (Kirkhill) (71-72-73) are sharing ninth place on 216 - six shots off the pace.

Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) is joint 14th on 217 with rounds of 76, 70 and 71.

The only other Scot to beat the cut at 223 was Greig Marchbank (Thornhill) with rounds of 72, 77 and 72 for 221. He is joint 29th among the leading 50 and ties who will play the final round.

Among the Scots who missed the cut was the defending champion Jamie Savage (Cawder) who had scores of 73, 82 and 73 for 228 - five shots too many.
And former Scottish amateur champion Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar), in a nine-way tie for the lead on three-under 69 after the first round, followed that great effort with rounds of 76 and 80 to miss the cut on 225 alongside Royal Aberdeen's Nick Macandrew and Connor Syme (Drumoig)

LEADING THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

Par 216 (3x72)

210 Gavin Moynihan (The Island) 69 76 65. Kevin LeBlanc (The Island) 71 71 68

214 Richard James (Wales) 69 74 71, Jonathan Yates (Naas) 72 71 71

SCOTS' SCORES

216 Jack McDonald 72 75 769, Craig Ross 71 72 73

217 Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) 76 70 71

221 Greig Marchbank (Thornhill) 72 77 72

MISSED THE CUT (223 and better qualified for final round)

225 Connor Syme 71 81 73, Nick Macandrew 77 74 74, Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) 69 76 80

226 Gordon Stevenson 78 77 71, Murray Naysmith 82 72 72

228 Jamie Savage 73 82 73, Anthony Blaney 75 80 73

229 Colin Baird 77 76 76

232 Scott Gibson 73 80 80

239 Chris MacLean 75 85 79

Hazlehead are North-east District team champions 

for first time since 1988 Journal Cup victory

Hazlehead, runners-up to Portlethen last year, stepped up a place to win the North-east District club team championship for the Journal Cup with a total of 438 at Fraserburgh GC today (Saturday).

Their team of Ian Taylor, Greg Kennedy and Scott Robertson finished three strokes ahead of joint runners-up Murcar Links and Newmachar.
It was Hazlehead's first win the tournament since the 1988 staging at Stonehaven.
They now go forward as the North-east's representatives to the Scottish club championship grand final at Fortrose and Rosemarkie GC on September 20.

The leading four individuals who will contest the N E District match-play championship for the Jaffray Cup, also at Fraserburgh, on Sunday are:

Scott Robertson (Hazlehead) (142: 73-69) v Anthony Bews (Murcar Links) (144: 72-72)

David Morrison (Duff House Royal) (144: 73-71) v Barrie Edmond (Bon Accord) (144: 73-71)

JOURNAL CUP TOTALS

CSS 72 72

438 Hazlehead (142 S Robertson 73 69. 147 I Taylor 69 78. 147 G Kennedy 75 72).

441 Murcar Links (144 A Bews 72 72. 145 C Stewart 73 72. 152 A Styles 73 79), Newmachar (144 M Lynch 70 74. 146 A Fisher 74 72. 151 J Wilson 72 79).

447 Bon Accord (144 B Edmond 73 71. 144 M Greig 72 72. 159 M Dunn 80 79).

448 Peterhead (148 D Buchan 77 71. 148 D Addison 75 73. 152 C Forman 76 76), Cruden Bay (148 J Godward 77 71.149 C Gilbert 76 73. 151 M Christie 80 71).

449 Aboyne (144 R Gordon 69 75. 150 L McWilliam 76 72. 155 C Stephen 75 80).

450 Duff House Royal (144 D Morrison 73 71. 153 C Bruce 73 80. 153 I Angus76 77)

454 Portlethen (148 G Innes 72 76. 151 K Daglish 74 77. 155 C Brechin 73 82).

456 Fraserburgh (150 A Hepburn 76 74. 150 G Munro 78 72. 156 B Wisely 78 78).

462 Banchory (153 S Strachan 76 77. 154 S Larkin 78 76. 155 L Smart 79 76)

463 Kintore (154 I Campbell 76 78. 154 S Carmichael 76 78. 155 C Coutts 77 78).

464 Royal Aberdeen (151 C Leith 75 76. 154 F McKenna 81 73. 159 G Elrick 78 81).

469 Oldmeldrum (148 G Law 75 73.154 R O'Donnell 86 78. 157 R Sinclair 79 78.

478 Turriff (154 A Smith 76 78. 159 A Ogg 81 78. 165 R Green 79 86)

481 Royal Tarlair (154 G Still 76 78. 161 B Smith 78 83. 166 M Legge 81 85)

485 Deeside (150 K Willox 75 75. 167 J Pryde 83 84. 168 J Hall 84 84

487 Peterculter (155 M Aitken 80 75. 165 G Watson 76 89. 167 J Kennedy 85 82)
500 Craibstone (154 A Bloice 76 78. 169 J Thomas 87 82. 177 S Milne 90 87)

No Returns
Meldrum House (142 M Clark 70 72. 148 B Brooks 74 74. NR N Robson 76 NR), Longside (158 W Wallace 79 79. 173 S Kidd 92 81. Only 2 players)

James White makes it to last day of Gosser Open

Fifer James White was the only Scot to survive the second-round cut in this weekend's Alps Tour event, the Gosser Open in Austria.
White has had rounds of 70 and 72 for 142 - the limit mark for qualifying to play in Sunday's final round.
He is seven shots behind the Italian leader, Aron Zemmer (67-68 for nine-under 135).
Scott Stewart-Cation (74-69 for 143) and John Henry (73-73 for 146) missed the cut.

Rhys Davies, with his wife 'on the bag,' goes 

two strokes clear in Turkey

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Former European Tour winner Rhys Davies has moved into pole position for a first victory in five years.The Welshman soared to a seven under par third round 65 and a two-shot lead at the Turkish Airlines Challenge today
The 29 year old carded seven birdies without dropping a single shot over the tricky tree-lined Old Course at Gloria Golf Resort and moved to 12 under par, as the second round leader Edouard Dubois of France struggled to a one-over 73.
On another day of sublime conditions in Belek, Davies’ round was the joint best of the day and he will bring a wealth of title-winning experience to the table when he hits the final tee shot off the first on Sunday.
After a stellar amateur career which included 10 victories in American collegiate golf and two Walker Cup appearances, the Bridgend player claimed two Challenge Tour victories en route to graduation to The European Tour in 2009.
He then fulfilled that promise a year later in the big league by winning the Trophée Hassan II – overcoming Louis Oosthuizen in a thrilling final day battle.
Davies was thrilled to have put himself in position for a return to the winners’ enclave this week and is hoping that the adrenaline of being in the final group Sunday will come rushing back and drive him to victory.
“I finished well today with three birdies and basically my wedges and putter were really hot,” he said. “I made a slight alteration to my putting stroke yesterday evening and started to roll the ball on line consistently, striking it really well too, so they went in for the most part.
“I think to be successful at this level you need to have a strength that you can really rely on and putting has traditionally been mine. There are other aspects of my game which I think are pretty decent as well but that would be the one that would stand out for me, and it certainly did today.
“I didn’t hit the ball that great to be honest. I was in play most of the time and my long game wasn’t really on but my wedges and putter were excellent.
“It has been a long time since I’ve been in this position in many respects - my form hasn’t been great in the last two years - but I think I’ve got enough good experiences in the back of my memory to draw on.
“I tend to find that when you come to the end of a tournament in a good position, certain things happen and you get certain feelings. You start to draw on past experiences just naturally and hopefully that will be the case tomorrow.”
Davies’ best result of the 2014 season came at the Swiss Challenge presented by Association Suisse de Golf, where he finished in a share of third place, and there was one common denominator between that event and this one. The former East Tennessee State University student has had his wife Deidre on the bag for both, and he believes that she has had a very positive effect on his game.
“I think it’s only the third time Deidre’s caddied for me and so far I’ve played well every time,” he said. “We get on really well and we tend to be pretty relaxed on the course so I think it helps me, definitely.”
Dubois, meanwhile, was disappointed not to continue the fine form he showed in the opening two days but is still happy to be in the mix and, with two Challenge Tour titles to his name, he still believes he can finish the job.
“It was not a good day for me,” said the 26 year old. “I had a seven at the par four sixth hole after losing a ball, so it wasn’t that bad to get back to level par after 12 holes.
“I didn’t play very well on the final six holes – I bogeyed the par five 17th after a very bad third shot – but I’m still here for the win tomorrow. I’m only two shots behind Rhys so it’s still possible.
“I think the difference today was my driving, it wasn’t very good, so I couldn’t reach the par fives. Overall it was just a bad day.
“I just need to stay focussed on my game and do the same things that I did for the opening two days and then I’ll be better tomorrow.”
Englishman William Harrold, a winner on the Challenge Tour last year, and Julien Guerrier of France were both in a share of third place heading into the final day on nine under par after rounds of 70 and 68 respectively, while a trio of Swedes - Björn Åkesson (72), Jens Dantorp (70) and Jacob Glennemo (68) – were joined by Sihwan Kim (69) of the USA in tied fifth on eight under.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
204 R Davies (Wal) 69 70 65
206 E Dubois (Fra) 66 67 73
207 J Guerrier  (Fra) 68 71 68, W Harrold (Eng) 71 66 70
208 B Åkesson (Swe) 70 66 72, J Glennemo (Swe) 69 71 68, J Dantorp (Swe) 72 66 70, S Kim (USA) 76 63 69
209 C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 68 70, R McGee (Irl) 73 71 65, D Palm (Swe) 70 73 66
210 L Gagli  (Ita) 72 69 69, D Im (USA) 73 71 66, P Archer (Eng) 70 69 71, S Einhaus (Ger) 72 72 66, A Hartø  (Den) 74 69 67, A Bernadet  (Fra) 70 70 70
211 G Porteous (Eng) 70 70 71, R Gouveia (Por) 70 73 68, C Arendell (USA) 69 69 73, P Whiteford (Sco) 72 66 73
212 E Saltman  (Sco) 69 70 73, J Rask (Swe) 71 69 72, J Lima  (Por) 74 70 68, C Berardo (Fra) 70 73 69,
213 J Stalter (Fra) 71 72 70, T Sinnott (Aus) 72 71 70, S Heisele (Ger) 75 68 70, E Bertheussen (Nor) 77 67 69, J Girrbach (Sui) 74 67 72, E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) 72 71 70, O Stark (Swe) 72 72 69, T Gornik (Slo) 73 68 72, J Hansen  (Den) 71 69 73, P Widegren  (Swe) 70 72 71
214 C Hanson (Eng) 70 72 72, M Ruiz (Par) 73 69 72, M Lafeber (Ned) 75 69 70, R Enoch  (Wal) 71 69 74, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 72 70 72, S Wakefield (Eng) 74 69 71, N Kimsey (Eng) 70 71 73, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 70 72 72
215 B Stone (RSA) 70 68 77, S Manley (Wal) 71 71 73, A Bruschi  (Ita) 70 72 73, N Geyger (Chi) 71 72 72, P Relecom  (Bel) 71 73 71, D Coupland (Eng) 73 71 71
216 G Murray  (Sco) 69 74 73, S Walker (Eng) 69 73 74, C Ford (Eng) 73 67 76, C Gloet  (Den) 73 71 72, J Sjöholm (Swe) 69 74 73, D Ulrich (Sui) 70 68 78, M Röhrig (Ger) 71 71 74, P Figueiredo  (Por) 68 76 72,
217 T Bakker (Fin) 72 71 74, A Korinek (Cze) 68 74 75, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 67 73 77, B Etchart  (Esp) 71 72 74, A Björk (Swe) 73 70 74
218 S Hodgson (Eng) 71 73 74, H Joannes  (Bel) 68 76 74, M Søgaard  (Den) 67 74 77,
219 S Soderberg (Swe) 75 68 76, A Snobeck  (Fra) 71 72 76, R Kellett (Sco) 71 73 75,
221 P Tarver-Jones (Eng) 74 68 79,
224 M Stieger (Aus) 74 70 80,

McArthur rues last-hole double bogey   EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS South African George Coetzee will take a slender one shot lead into the final round of the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open following a bogey-free third round of 65 at the Heritage Golf Club. The two time European Tour winner, who is the highest ranked player in the field, made his move with a stunning front nine, pitching in for eagle on the seventh hole, following birdies on the second and fifth holes, before a further gain on the ninth. He picked up another shot on the 14th hole to move to 11 under par for the tournament, with compatriot Thomas Aiken (68) and overnight leader Thorbjørn Olesen (70) tied for second place on ten under par. Dane Olesen, the overnight leader by one shot, struggled with his driver throughout the third round, but he produced three birdies on the back nine, as well as a string of impressive par saves, to remain in contention in his first tournament back after three months out with a hand injury. Singapore’s Mardan Mamat is a further two shots back on eight under par following a round of 67  Glasgow's Andrew McArthur, a former Scottish amateur champion, was left to rue a closing double bogey as he signed for a round of 68 to lie four strokes off the pace, in a four-way share of fifth position on seven under par. Key player quotes George Coetzee – 65 (-11 total) “As I walked off the course, I told my manager I don’t know how I’m shooting under par the way I’m playing, but obviously the course must suit my eye pretty well. Any way you get to a 65 is okay. I’m pretty happy, but I made it difficult for myself on the back nine. But I felt like I hit enough good shots to maybe have some confidence for tomorrow. “I don’t know if I’m getting that winning feeling again. With golf, you never know what’s coming tomorrow, but I’ll definitely be giving it my best. I’ve played enough tournaments to have picked up experience and kind of know what to expect, but really, you never know what you’re going to get. I feel like I’m pretty comfortable with the way to handle things and I’m happy with the way my mind’s working at the moment.” Thomas Aiken – 68 (-10 total) “This is a risk and reward course. I went the conservative route today and still made a couple, so all in all I’m happy with the day and I’m nicely position going into tomorrow. Hopefully the weather plays its part tomorrow and we get a fair test of golf. “George is a good friend of mine so it will nice to go out and do battle with him on the course tomorrow. He’s played great golf today. He was five under on the front nine which in that weather is great golf. It should be fun tomorrow. There are a few tough holes and depending on what the weather does, it should be a good day to watch.” Thorbjørn Olesen – 70 (-10 total) “My par saves were pretty amazing today. I’m happy that we are done now because it was not pretty out there. I was trying to find an escape and get the best score I could. I hit a lot of poor tee shots. The save on 14 was incredible and the save on 17 was also amazing. It was a tough round today and it took a lot of concentration and belief in myself. “The rough is tricky and there are a few long holes so if you make the rough you can’t get it on the green. My tee shots were just really poor, not good enough. Hopefully I can find something overnight otherwise it is going to be a long round tomorrow. “I couldn’t be happier that I’m only one shot off the lead with the way I played today. I’m still in contention and I have a good chance tomorrow. I have to find something from tee though to get my ball on the fairway.” THIRD-ROUND TOTALS Par 213 (3x71) 202 G Coetzee (RSA) 70 67 65 203 T Olesen (Den) 65 68 70, T Aiken (RSA) 69 66 68 205 M Mamat (Sin) 69 69 67 206 A McArthur  (Sco) 68 70 68, N Holman  (Aus) 67 73 66, C Pigem (Esp) 65 72 69, D Burmester (RSA) 67 68 71 207 J Janewattananond (Tha) 69 70 68, M Bremner (RSA) 71 70 66 208 O Bekker (RSA) 66 71 71, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 68 67 73, J Parry (Eng) 67 70 71, M Kawamura (Jpn) 68 69 71, J Roos (RSA) 70 71 67, M Muthiya  (Zam) 67 74 67, S Hend (Aus) 72 66 70, T Van Der Walt (RSA) 73 66 69, P Edberg (Swe) 68 66 74  209 S Lewton (Eng) 70 69 70, D Van Tonder  (RSA) 73 70 66, J Palmer (Eng) 71 69 69, B Ritthammer (Ger) 71 70 68, T Khrongpha (Tha) 69 72 68, V Riu  (Fra) 71 70 68, C Paisley  (Eng) 72 69 68, J Walters (RSA) 67 73 69, S Brazel (Aus) 69 70 70,  210 K Horne (RSA) 70 69 71, A Tadini (Ita) 71 69 70, B Evans  (Eng) 70 70 70, C Hung (Tpe) 70 71 69, J Hahn (USA) 70 72 68, A Pavan (Ita) 73 69 68, A Groom (Aus) 71 71 68,  211 U Park (Aus) 72 70 69, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 68 72 71, A Dodt (Aus) 72 69 70, M Perera (Sri) 72 71 68, P Peterson (USA) 69 70 72, C Del Moral (Esp) 68 74 69, J Hugo  (RSA) 73 69 69, P Martin Benavides (Esp) 72 66 73, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 66 71 74, R Gangjee (Ind) 67 70 74, M Lundberg (Swe) 68 71 72  212 R McGowan  (Eng) 70 72 70, C Lloyd (Eng) 73 70 69, K Richardson (Aus) 73 66 73, R Lee (Can) 72 68 72, T Wiratchant (Tha) 71 71 70, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 69 72  213 C Nel (RSA) 69 69 75, K Phelan (Irl) 68 73 72, J Colomo  (Esp) 72 69 72, J Wang (SKor) 65 72 76, E Goya (Arg) 70 71 72, E De La Riva  (Esp) 71 71 71, S Barr (Aus) 69 73 71, C Phadungsil  (Tha) 72 71 70  214 A Da Silva (Bra) 72 69 73, D Van Den Heever (RSA) 73 70 71, G Bhullar (Ind) 72 71 71, J Lagergren (Swe) 70 71 73, R Wannasrichan (Tha) 74 69 71,  215 D Chopra (Swe) 70 68 77, R Karlberg  (Swe) 68 75 72, P Oriol (Esp) 70 73 72, R Cairns (Zim) 69 74 72, J Scrivener (Aus) 71 72 72  216 S Supupramai (Tha) 70 73 73, D Woltman (USA) 67 74 75, P Pittayarat (Tha) 67 74 75,  217 C Bouniol (Fra) 71 70 76 E

Fife team to play Lothians at Ratho Park
 
Fife team for tomorrow's friendly match against Lothians at Ratho Park Golf Club is:

Keith Anderson (Charleton)
Chris Bradley (Pitreavie)
Fraser Carr (Crail)
Andrew Davidson (Charleton)
Greg Forrester (Lundin)
Ally Hain (St Andrews)
David Mitchell (Leven Thistle)
Alex Moir (Thornton)