European Tour report and third-round scores

Kaymer cruises into share of Italian Open lead

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS Martin Kaymer fired a brilliant 65 to move into a share of the lead ahead of the final round of the 72° OPEN D'ITALIA presented by DAMIANI. The German was one of the favourites coming into the week as he looks for a first win since claiming his second Major Championship victory at the US Open at Pinehurst last year, but he will face a big challenge from joint-leaders Jens Fahrbring and Romain Wattel as well as a congested chasing pack. Fahrbring dropped a shot on the last to sign for a 68 and slip back alongside Kaymer and Wattel, who recorded a 66 at Golf Club Milano. Kaymer started the day three shots behind Fahrbring and Lucas Bjerregaard but he charged to the top of the leaderboard with four birdies in his opening four holes. Another three birdies saw the 30 year old record the best score of the day to set the clubhouse target which Fahbring and Wattell would eventually match. As the highest ranked player in the field, Kaymer will be the firm favourite to land a 12th European Tour title on Sunday afternoon, but he will have to hold off a hungry chasing pack which includes Bjerregaard, Bernd Wiesberger and Fabrizio Zanotti, who are tied justtwo shots off the lead. With 15 players within five strokes of the lead going into the final round, the record crowds which have flocked to Golf Club Milano this week are set for a thrilling final round. Player Quotes Martin Kaymer: “If you play a fun course like this, with crowds like this, and play the way I did then it is difficult not to enjoy the day. I had a very good start and then played well throughout so it was a very good day. “The only thing I would say could improve a little bit is the short game. The putting is good, but I need to work on the chipping a little bit. I have been playing well for the last three days so I haven’t really had to rely on the short game too much. My long game is consistent and I have been driving it well. “I am looking forward to tomorrow – it will be a challenge to myself and a challenge to beat my opponents. I am up there with a chance to win on Sunday and that’s all you want at the end of the day. “It’s important that you don’t look too far ahead and start to think about what could happen. You also don’t want to rush into an aggressive mode too soon. It might be the case that some of the guys who are out before me make a really fast start so it is a fine line to figure out what the best plan is. You have to also enjoy the day and I think I have enough experience of being in this position to enjoy it. “It will be interesting to see what happens over the first nine holes and to see how I feel mentally. Once you get on the back nine you have to be a bit more spontaneous and adjust to the situation around you.” Jens Fahrbring: “It was so much fun out there today. The crowds were great and it is always so much fun to play in front of a lot of people. I was a little nervous over the first few holes today but then I hit a great shot into the fifth and made birdie and that was a real turning point for me. I was really relaxed after that and enjoyed the round. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I know I don’t have to be perfect which helps – I know I can make a good score around this course and hopefully I can shoot the best score tomorrow.” Romain Wattell: “I am really happy with the way I played today. I am always happy to shoot 66 but especially on moving day at the Italian Open. The back nine was really good and I think the main difference was the putting. I am looking forward to tomorrow – I am going to try and do my best and hope that it’s good enough to win." Complete Third Round Scores:  Par 216 (3x72) 199 R Wattel  (Fra) 67 66 66, J Fahrbring (Swe) 67 64 68, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 66 65 201 L Bjerregaard  (Den) 66 65 70, F Zanotti (Par) 66 67 68, B Wiesberger  (Aut) 66 68 67 202 J Van Zyl (RSA) 71 65 66, R Karlberg  (Swe) 67 67 68, D Lipsky (USA) 67 67 68 203 M Lundberg (Swe) 68 68 67, J Scrivener (Aus) 68 68 67, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 63 70 70, D Brooks (Eng) 71 65 67 204 D Willett  (Eng) 68 67 69, K Broberg (Swe) 65 72 67, 205 M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 70 68 67, F Molinari (Ita) 65 72 68, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 71 67 67, R Santos  (Por) 69 68 68, P Lawrie (Irl) 68 67 70, J Singh (Ind) 68 69 68, S Fernandez (am) (Esp) 69 67 69, 206 J Barnes (Eng) 69 68 69, T Lewis (Eng) 72 67 67, A Cañizares  (Esp) 68 69 69, R Kakko  (Fin) 67 72 67, M Korhonen (Fin) 66 70 70, L Scalise (am) (Ita) 71 66 69, 207 P Oriol (Esp) 68 65 74, P Maddy (Eng) 68 69 70, R Gonzalez (Arg) 68 72 67, J Lagergren (Swe) 72 66 69, W Homan  (USA) 73 66 68, M Jiménez (Esp) 69 66 72, S Cink (USA) 69 68 70, M Crespi  (Ita) 70 70 67, G Storm  (Eng) 71 66 70, B Hebert  (Fra) 69 69 69, M Ford (Eng) 69 68 70, S Kapur (Ind) 65 72 70 208 R Rock (Eng) 72 67 69, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 70 67 71, A Perrino  (Ita) 67 67 74, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 70 69, M Nixon (Eng) 67 69 72, Y Yang (SKor) 68 71 69, E Kofstad (Nor) 69 69 70, E Goya (Arg) 71 68 69, P McGinley (Irl) 68 72 68, 209 C Lee (Sco) 67 67 75, E De La Riva  (Esp) 69 70 70, V Riu  (Fra) 71 68 70, S Chawrasia (Ind) 69 69 71, D Howell (Eng) 70 69 70, M Foster (Eng) 66 71 72, S Fallon (Eng) 67 70 72, P Harrington (Irl) 70 70 69, M Bremner (RSA) 71 68 70, O Fisher  (Eng) 70 68 71, 210 E Molinari  (Ita) 72 67 71, A Levy (Fra) 70 70 70, J Parry (Eng) 71 69 70, L Gagli  (Ita) 67 70 73, F Fritsch  (Ger) 68 72 70, S Manley (Wal) 72 68 70, M Tullo (Chi) 69 71 70, R Karlsson (Swe) 69 71 70, J Lara (Esp) 68 72 70, W Ormsby (Aus) 69 67 74, S Mazzoli (am) (Ita) 66 70 74, 211 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 70 69 72, H Otto (RSA) 69 71 71, 212 G Mulroy (RSA) 72 67 73, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 71 69 72, T Olesen (Den) 72 68 72, 213 J Roos (RSA) 70 70 73, 216 D Clarke (Nir) 70 70 76, ** D Drysdale (Sco) 70 69 retired