Dundee-based Frenchman sharing third-

round lead at Dunhill Links Championship


Round three report

Dundee-based Frenchman Victor Perez and Englishman Matthew Southgate will enter Sunday's final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in a share of the lead, with both players chasing a maiden European Tour title.

The famous St Andrews Old Course will play host on the final day and with the wind set to kick up, it will be all to play for among the chasing pack which features Paul Waring, who sits in outright second place, American Ryder Cup player Tony Finau and former World Number One Luke Donald.

But it will be Perez and Southgate in pole position at the Home of Golf, as they sit atop the leaderboard with a two-stroke advantage on 20 under par.

Perez, who lives with his partner in nearby Dundee, will be vying for a first European Tour victory in his rookie season, having graduated from the European Challenge Tour last year. The 27-year-old carded an eight under 64 at Kingsbarns Golf Links which included a run of five successive birdies.

Southgate, meanwhile, is making his 140^th appearance on Tour and the closest he has come was a share of second place at the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. The 30-year-old signed for a seven under 65 at the Old Course after finishing with a birdie at the ninth, his 18^th.

Player quotes

Victor Perez: “It was awesome. Bit windier today. Out of all the courses, we got a bit fortunate to play here today, being a bit wider off the tee. Maybe the guys at Carnoustie would have been playing the tougher course today.

“I played great and hit the ball really well. Felt like I made a couple putts. I didn't make any bombs out there or anything. Missed a short one on eight but the rest of the ball-striking was class today and I was really pleased with obviously nine birdies again.”

Matthew Southgate: “Didn't miss many shots and got the speed of the greens really good. Set up so many chances. I was always bound to make a good fistful of them. Not much you can say really. Just really solid all day.

“My swing feels very solid. I feel very happy in my own head at the minute and playing with such a clear mind and just easy swing thoughts. The biggest job tomorrow is going to be keeping me in check rather than the golf swing. I'm hitting the ball fantastic the first three days, so there's no reason why I can't shoot another good score.

“Someone is going to post a good number, so it's going to take a good score to get the win. I'm so passionate about winning tournaments and being here at the Home of Golf, tomorrow is going to be a difficult one to just keep myself in check and keep producing what I have done the first three days.”

Paul Waring: “Anything under par around Carnoustie you always take, especially with quite a stiff breeze out there. Pleased to shoot as low as I did and get myself involved with the tournament.
“I think when I'm happy and I'm having fun, I feel like I'm at my best. So, this week kind of blends well into the two elements for me. If I get a little bit too into it, a little bit sort of too strict on myself, it can negative effects. When I'm bouncing around and having a laugh, it's the true me. It's showing this season how I'm playing. Enjoying myself a bit more.”

Tony Finau: “I was happy with the way I played. Missed a short one on 17, but outside of that I played really nicely. I thought it was tough. That front nine, every hole was into the wind. It was quite cool this morning when we teed off, so a lot of those holes played a lot harder than they normally do with the wind. I was happy to get around the front nine in a couple under and I was able to score on the back nine.

“It’s very cool to be at the Home of Golf. The Old Course, there's nothing like it. So, to be able to tee it up tomorrow and play and have a chance to win a golf tournament here is going to be something special.” 

Round three scores:
par 216 (3x72)
196 V Perez (Fra) 64 68 64, M Southgate (Eng) 65 66 65
198 P Waring (Eng) 65 68 65
199 T Finau (USA) 67 66 66, J Lagergren (Swe) 69 62 68
200 J Smith (Eng) 64 68 68, L Donald (Eng) 68 68 64, A Pavan (Ita) 68 65 67
201 M Jordan (Eng) 66 64 71, T Hatton (Eng) 66 68 67, J Wang (S Korea) 70 65 66, L Bjerregaard (Denmark) 67 68 66, C Hill (Sco) 66 65 70
202 R Ramsay (Sco) 65 67 70, R Knox (Sco) 66 66 70, J Rose (Eng) 68 64 70
203 A Noren (Swe) 69 66 68, H Li (China) 71 68 64, R MacIntyre (Sco) 71 66 66, P Harrington (Ireland) 69 68 66, A Rai (Eng) 68 66 69, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 69 67 67, S Lowry (Ireland) 73 66 64, C Shinkwin (Eng) 72 68 63
204 B Hebert (Fra) 73 64 67, R Gouveia (Portugal) 70 67 67, T Detry (Belgium) 72 69 63, S Soderberg (Swe) 71 64 69, D Willett (Eng) 72 66 66, R Karlsson (Swe) 67 70 67, E Pepperell (Eng) 70 66 68
205 R Karlberg (Swe) 69 68 68, J Veerman (USA) 72 63 70, R Jacquelin (Fra) 69 69 67, T Fleetwood (Eng) 66 69 70, R Fox (NZ) 64 68 73, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 68 65 72, V Dubuisson (Fra) 68 67 70, T Lewis (Eng) 70 70 65
206 H Hall (Eng) 70 68 68, L Slattery (Eng) 68 66 72, A Quiros (Spn) 70 70 66, Z Lombard (SAf) 67 68 71, R McIlroy (N Ireland) 70 66 70, M Kinhult (Swe) 66 70 70, M Wallace (Eng) 70 68 68, W Besseling (Netherlands) 68 67 71, J Catlin (USA) 72 65 69
207 T Pulkkanen (Finland) 65 68 74, S Jamieson (Sco) 69 66 72, S Horsfield (Eng) 72 67 68, O Fisher (Eng) 68 69 70, D Burmester (SAf) 73 68 66, G Forrest (Sco) 72 70 65, M Pavon (Fra) 68 71 68, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 69 69, O Wilson (Eng) 72 67 68, D Horsey (Eng) 68 67 72, F Zanotti (Paraguay) 66 71 70, J Luiten (Netherlands) 69 67 71
208 N Schietekat (SAf) 69 67 72, W Nienaber (SAf) 75 65 68, W Ormsby (Australia) 71 68 69, D Law (Sco) 68 72 68, J Scrivener (Australia) 71 69 68, R Paratore (Ita) 69 66 73, E Walker (Sco) 68 70 70, J Walters (SAf) 63 71 74, G Coetzee (SAf) 66 72 70, N Elvira (Spn) 70 67 71, R Sterne (SAf) 70 73 65, L Johnston (Sco) 69 69 70, M Schwab (Austria) 70 70 68, R Cabrera Bello (Spn) 69 69 70,
209 S Kim (USA) 74 65 70, M Lee (Australia) 70 68 71, R Wattel (Fra) 70 67 72, M Kaymer (Ger) 69 71 69, R Langasque (Fra) 71 68 70, J Ahlers (SAf) 65 77 67, C Bezuidenhout (SAf) 67 74 68, G Fernandez-Castaño (Spn) 68 75 66, S Brown (Eng) 69 68 72, B Easton (SA) 72 66 71, N Colsaerts (Belgium) 69 75 65, J Morrison (Eng) 70 71 68, D Lipsky (USA) 73 64 72
210 A Levy (Fra) 68 70 72, L Westwood (Eng) 69 69 72, R Rock (Eng) 66 71 73, A Johnston (Eng) 70 74 66, K Reitan (Norway) 65 68 77, T Lawrence (SAf) 75 66 69
211 J Singh Brar (Eng) 68 72 71, K Aphibarnrat (Thai) 70 66 75, A Haindl (SAf) 68 71 72, K Davidse (SAf) 75 68 68, N Bertasio (Ita) 66 73 72, A Arnaus (Spn) 68 70 73, G Green (Malaysia) 69 73 69, G Migliozzi (Ita) 69 71 71, L Herbert (Australia) 69 68 74, S Kjeldsen (Denmark) 74 69 68, B Wiesberger (Austria) 72 71 68, E Els (SAf) 70 72 69
212 R McEvoy (Eng) 69 74 69, L De Jager (SAf) 70 69 73, E Van Rooyen (SAf) 77 71 64, B Stone (SAf) 69 69 74, G McDowell (N Ireland) 72 70 70, B Grace (SAf) 72 72 68, H Porteous (SAf) 70 70 72, T Immelman (SAf 68 71 73, J Suri (USA) 68 74 70, J Rahm (Spn)  67 72 73, G Bhullar (India) 69 68 75, M Fraser (Australia) 66 73 73, K Samooja (Finland) 71 72 69,
213 P Larrazábal (Spn) 68 70 75, T Sloman (Eng) 74 69 70, S Gallacher (Sco) 70 71 72, J Donaldson (Wales) 70 70 73, J Dantorp (Swe) 73 67 73, B Wu (USA) 71 66 76, J Roos (SAf) 70 75 68, C Wood (Eng) 73 72 68, C Paisley (Eng) 68 70 75, B Dredge (Wales) 72 71 70, A Sullivan (Eng) 70 72 71, R Fisher (Eng) 72 68 73, P Dunne (Ireland) 70 75 68
214 H Tanihara (Jpn) 69 72 73, T Pilkadaris (Australia) 71 69 74, H Leon (Chile) 72 70 72, A Otaegui (Spn) 64 74 76, T Aiken (SAf) 73 69 72, J Felton (Australia) 71 69 74, D Hillier (NZ) 71 70 73, J Harding (SAf) 75 68 71, D Drysdale (Sco) 75 69 70, D Papadatos (Australia) 68 68 78, A Romero (Arg) 71 68 75, P Eriksson (Swe) 76 67 71, M Campbell (NZ) 75 72 67
215 Y Miyazato (Jpn) 71 70 74, C O'Reilly (Australia) 68 73 74, J Hansen (Denmark) 70 73 72, T Jaidee (Thai) 73 70 72, B Henson (USA) 68 69 78, N Højgaard (Denmark) 74 69 72, H Endycott (Australia) 69 74 72
216 T Bjørn (Denmark) 73 71 72, E Molinari (Ita) 72 70 74, S Sharma (India) 71 67 78, J McLeod (Australia) 74 69 73
217 S Crocker (USA) 71 71 75, S Hawkes (Australia) 74 69 74, J Kruyswijk (SAf) 72 73 72
218 D Points (USA) 69 75 74
219 D Howell (Eng) 71 70 78, D Nisbet (Australia) 71 71 77
221 A Chesters (Eng) 76 74 71
222 D Fichardt (SAf) 73 75 74, J Burnage (Eng) 75 70 77, M Palmer (SAf) 75 73 74,
223 J Ritchie (SAf) 75 68 80
227 M Kawamura (Jpn) 72 78 77
** A Björk (Swe) 75 retired.

 

TEAM LEADERBOARD

 

Pos	Name	Par
T1	Tommy Fleetwood and Ogden Phipps	-29
	Andrea Pavan and Chris Goodwin	-29
T3	Rory McIlroy and Gerry McIlroy	-28
	Matthew Southgate and Peter Dawson	-28
T5	Luke Donald and Jamie Redknapp	-27
	Jordan Smith and Moss Ngoasheng	-27
	Rafa Cabrera Bello and Dermot Desmond	-27
T8	Haotong Li and Allen Zhang	-26
	Scott Jamieson and Cian Foley	-26
	George Coetzee and Aidan Crawley	-26