Everything you need to know from a windy Moving Day at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Matt Wallace remained at the summit, strong winds caused havoc and there was an Olympic guest in attendance on day three of the 2024 Omega European Masters.
Here is everything you need to know from a windy Moving Day at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Wallace battles on to lead in Swiss Alps
Wallace was made to work hard as he maintained his stranglehold on the tournament in the Swiss mountains to lead by four shots. The Englishman was sitting pretty at the top by the same margin at the halfway point and headed into the weekend as the only player not to drop a shot through 36 holes. He started Moving Day at 14 under, but high winds affected the whole field and it only took him two holes to card his first bogey of the tournament. Wallace battled through the tough conditions to register a third round of 73, mixing six bogeys with three birdies to sit at 11 under at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club. "Where do I start? Brutal, really hard. Felt I hit the ball just as good, in the right areas - they were the wrong areas by the looks of it," Wallace said. "The other day I was saying it was cold and windy, but that was crazy. The greens were fantastic but just really fast as well. Man, that was tough, (caddie) Jamie and I are very tired now. Today wasn't about really shooting under par, it was about keeping my lead and I did that and I will try and take the ego out of the three over, which I'm not happy about those type of scores but I probably left two or three shots out there which would have been an unbelievable score."
Gugler's glee after tough Moving Day
Home favourite Cedric Gugler produced one of the best rounds of Moving Day, mixing three bogeys with two birdies in a 71 to slip down to five under alongside Alex Fitzpatrick, Italian Edoardo Molinari and Australia's Jason Scrivener for a share of fifth. The strong winds in the Swiss Alps even surprised Gugler, who revealed he had played Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club on more than 30 occasions, as he targets the biggest cheque of his career, which currently stands at €7,625 after last year's 57th-placed finish at this event. "It was a fight, it was tough," Gugler, who goes out in the penultimate group on Sunday, said. "I think I handled the wind quite well, but obviously with the greens being that so fast and the fairways being pretty firm as well it was almost like a links-style course. I did great, I stayed patient the whole day. Me and my caddie were saying we just had to stay patient the whole time and good things will happen. That's what I've told myself the whole tournament already, so yeah, very tough and played well. No chance (experienced weather like this at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club). I've seen snow, I've seen a lot of rain, I've seen a load of low temperatures but I've never seen wind like that before. It was very, very tough."
Windy conditions stem low scoring
The brutal conditions in Crans Montana meant low scoring came at a premium on Saturday. Only three players managed to card under par rounds, with Jonas Blixt registering the best of the day with a two-under 68 after an eagle, three birdies and three bogeys. He was joined at four under by fellow Swede Sebastian Söderberg, who carded a 69 thanks to four gains and three dropped shots. Edoardo Molinari was the final player to register a one-under round following an eagle, two birdies and three bogeys to sit one shot ahead in a share of fifth.
Only THREE players finished under-par today 👇
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 7, 2024
🇸🇪 Jonas Blixt (-2)
🇸🇪 Sebastian Söderberg (-1)
🇮🇹 Edoardo Molinari (-1)#OEM2024
Olympic touch in Crans Montana
There was a special guest in attendance on Saturday. Armand Duplantis - the Olympic gold medallist and world record holder in the pole vault - battled against the elements in the Swiss mountains to show his support. He recently raced against good friend Karsten Warholm, the world record holder in the 400m hurdles, in a 100m exhibition and won in a time of 10.37 seconds.
Play it as it lies
This is easily the most bizarre landing spot of the tournament. How's your luck Jacob Skov Olesen?
How did this ball stay there? 🤯#OEM2024 pic.twitter.com/QfvCgt5wNh
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 7, 2024