Pieters leads Czech Masters despite two-stroke 
penalty for playing wrong ball

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Thomas Pieters will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the D+D REAL Czech Masters, despite incurring a two-shot penalty for pIaying the wrong ball during his third round.
The big-hitting Belgian made a blistering start at Albatross Golf Resort with an eagle on the opening hole followed by a birdie on the second to hit the top of the leaderboard, and he picked up three consecutive birdies from eighth hole. But his progress came to an abrupt halt in bizarre circumstances on the 11th hole when the 23 year old played his second shot from the rough using a ball he thought was his, only to discover his actual ball a matter of yards away.
That mix-up cost Pieters the lead, but he fought back admirably with a birdie on the next hole and picked up two more shots, on the 14th and 16th holes, for an impressive seven under par round of 65.
At 17 under par he is one shot clear of Sweden’s Pelle Edberg, who posted five birdies in his opening 12 holes followed by six consecutive pars to finish off a round of 67.
It was a more dramatic ending for Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen who sank a 68ft birdie putt on the 18th hole after only just clearing the water with his approach. That long-range effort was his sixth birdie of the day in a round of 67, and he is four shots back on 13 under par, with English pair Robert Dinwiddie (68) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (71) a further shot adrift on 12 under par.
Key Player quotes

Thomas Pieters – 65 (-17 total)
“The 11th hurts a little bit because it is my mistake. It could have been a lower one but I’m still really happy with the way I played, and seven under is a good score on a Saturday.
“It’s never happened to me before – I normally check my ball. I got close to my ball and they pointed at the ball laying there to say it was mine. I didn’t know at the time because it had the same marking on it, a black line. I didn’t really think about it, so it is my fault for not checking it. I hit it and walked a couple of yards and saw my actual ball laying there, so I got a two stroke penalty there.
“I was hitting it well and putting well. There was no reason to get too upset. Things happen, it’s just a shame it happened today. It was nice to fight back and finish off with a couple of birdies, but I need to learn from it obviously and not make stupid mistakes like that.
“I was a little impatient in Spain when I was up there, especially the first six holes, so I need to stay patient tomorrow. There will always been some nerves but I’ve been there before in Spain and I just need to stay as calm and patient as I can.”

Pelle Edberg – 67 (-16 total)
“It was a lot better than the previous two days. I was lot better of the tee and took care of the par fives better. I didn’t hole as many putts but it is a good score. Thomas and I had a great day. We hit pretty much the same distance off the tee and with irons, so it helped me out and probably helped him out too.
“I’ve not felt this comfortable in this position in past years. I’ve been extremely nervous. I’m feeling more confident in the stuff we are working on and the results I’m getting. I’ve been up there a few weeks now and it is getting easier to adapt to the situation. I’m excited to get going and that is a good feeling.”

 Thorbjørn Olesen – 67 (-13 total)
“I felt great out there today and tried to play as aggressive as I could. I went after all the pins. It paid off. I hit some great putts.  I was much more loose today. I felt good on the range warming up. I didn’t have too many worries out there. If I can get out there tomorrow and get the same feeling, I can be aggressive again.
“I didn’t have the greatest of lies there on the 18th in the rough and I didn’t even know if I could get it over the water. I used all my power and got it just over and a bit of luck and a great putt makes it a nice birdie to finish (putt was 68ft).
“There are two guys a bit ahead of me so I will go out there and try to enjoy myself, be relaxed and get that feeling again.”
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
par 216 (3x72)
199 T Pieters  (Bel) 66 68 65,
200 P Edberg (Swe) 66 67 67,
203 T Olesen (Den) 67 69 67,
204 R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 69 67 68, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 66 67 71,
207 R Kakko  (Fin) 67 72 68, P Uihlein  (USA) 70 71 66, M Lundberg (Swe) 72 71 64, S Hutsby  (Eng) 66 70 71,
208 M Hoey  (Nir) 67 70 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 68 71, R Paratore (Ita) 65 73 70, C Lee (Sco) 68 71 69, F Fritsch  (Ger) 69 70 69, J Lara (Esp) 71 68 69, D Lipsky (USA) 71 69 68,
209 R Karlberg  (Swe) 70 68 71, P Oriol (Esp) 67 73 69, R Fox (Nzl) 73 67 69, L Jensen (Den) 71 72 66, A Wall (Eng) 72 70 67, K Broberg (Swe) 67 73 69, J Makitalo  (Fin) 71 70 68,
210 E De La Riva  (Esp) 65 76 69, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 72 68 70, M Foster (Eng) 67 72 71, C Arendell (USA) 72 67 71, D McGrane (Irl) 69 70 71, M Schneider (Ger) 72 67 71, G Boyd  (Eng) 69 72 69,
211 G Bourdy (Fra) 70 70 71, J Lagergren (Swe) 69 73 69, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 73 70 68,
212 J McLeary  (Sco) 69 71 72, M Ford (Eng) 71 68 73, C Paisley  (Eng) 69 72 71, G Porteous (Eng) 72 69 71, K Phelan (Irl) 70 71 71, R Evans  (Eng) 73 68 71, M Decottignies-Lafon (Fra) 71 69 72, P Whiteford (Sco) 70 73 69,
213 D Drysdale (Sco) 69 73 71, S Kapur (Ind) 71 72 70, M Nixon (Eng) 74 68 71, J Barnes (Eng) 69 71 73, D Dixon (Eng) 69 70 74, P Maddy (Eng) 73 69 71, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 73 69 71, S Griffiths (Eng) 71 68 74,
214 B Stow (Eng) 72 66 76, A Tadini (Ita) 71 70 73, D Im (USA) 68 73 73, M Tullo (Chi) 71 70 73, F Mruzek (Cze) 69 74 71, O Fisher  (Eng) 71 70 73, G Storm  (Eng) 70 73 71, F Praegant (Aut) 69 74 71,
215 L Slattery (Eng) 68 72 75, B Evans  (Eng) 71 71 73, J Knutzon (USA) 71 72 72, S Hansen (Den) 71 72 72, B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 72 75, P Meesawat  (Tha) 70 73 72, E Espana (Fra) 71 72 72, J Hahn (USA) 72 71 72, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 67 72 76, B Dredge (Wal) 74 69 72,
216 A Saddier (Fra) 71 70 75, C Bouniol (Fra) 70 73 73, D Brooks (Eng) 69 72 75, S Henry  (Sco) 69 72 75, J Parry (Eng) 70 71 75, H Otto (RSA) 71 72 73
217 J Sjöholm (Swe) 70 72 75, S Jamieson  (Sco) 67 72 78, V Novak (am) (Cze) 73 68 76
218 P Relecom  (Bel) 68 75 75,



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