Thomas Björn’s golfing rehabilitation continued in fine style at The K Club when a controlled 69 in testing windy conditions saw the Dane move into a commanding four shot lead at the end of the penultimate round of the Smurfit European Open.
Björn started the day in a share of the lead with Jamie Donaldson but while the Welshman fell away, the Dane moved in the other direction, keeping a bogey off his card until the 17th hole to put significant daylight between himself and the chasing pack led by Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin and England’s Jonathan Lomas.
It was a year ago that Björn walked out of the Smurfit European Open unsure of which direction his golf game was heading. But since then, new focus and a new positive emphasis have seen all that change as was emphasised by his victory in The Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters seven weeks ago.
Now, at eight under par 208, he stands on the threshold of his ninth European Tour International Schedule title, and if he continues in a similar vein as he has over the first three rounds, then he will be a hard man to catch.
"I knew I had to go out there and find a solid game and it was certainly solid today," he said. "It was as good as you want to play in these conditions and I don't think you can expect much more than I achieved today so I am very pleased with that."
Of the two closest challengers to the Dane, Jacquelin kept alive his hopes of a first European Tour title with a stunning finish to his third round 70 for a four under par total of 212.
While most of the field faced a losing battle with the elements, Jacquelin showed scores could be made on the Palmer Course, birdieing the 16th and 17th holes before eagling the 18th.
In the bunker short of the 570 yard 16th in two, the 31 year old splashed out superbly to within a foot of the hole for a birdie four before firing a six iron to 15 feet and holing for a birdie three on the 17th.
But Jacquelin saved the best for last, finding the green in two at the 537 yard 18th before rolling in the resulting 12 foot putt for eagle three.
“You just have to keep trying and keep trying to hit the fairways because that is the key here, especially today with the wind,” he said. I am very pleased with the finish and to be four under, so we will see what tomorrow brings.
“Thomas is out there in front but we have 18 holes tomorrow, but I have a chance there is no doubt about that and I will try my best, definitely.”
Jacquelin was joined on 212 by England’s Jonathan Lomas, who birdied the final hole for a level par 72 to keep together a fine recent run of form which saw him play all four rounds in the US Open Championship and finish in the top ten of the Open de France last week.
"Obviously it was a tough day for everybody out there and it was tempting to take on shots but you couldn't afford to in the wind," he said. "I've kept to my game plan and that's what I've tried to do every day."
Completing the top five were Scotland’s Andrew Coltart and Graeme Storm of England who both ended their three rounds on two under par 214 after posting respective rounds of 71 and 74.
Coltart’s round was all the more remarkable considering he reached the turn in three over par 38 before turning matters around on the inward half in spectacular fashion in figures of four under par 33.
“it was tricky out there, both nines were hard going and I had a couple of tough little breaks which resulted in the bogeys on the front side,” he said. “But I said to Richard my caddie, let’s just try and get a couple of birdies on the back nine and I played really well on the back nine, hit it close and stayed patient, ground out some pars when I needed to and ended up shooting four under par so I was delighted with that.”
Storm started well in his quest for a maiden European Tour title and indeed birdies at the first and fourth holes moved him into a share of the lead at the time with Björn. But it was to prove to be the only birdies of the day for the 27 year old Englishman and four bogeys elsewhere saw him drop back to six off the lead.
"A top five finish would be great for me and for my season which has been pretty good so far," he said. "But I think something like the top 30 would help me keep my card and so that is obviously important for me for the rest of the season."
While the top five all harbour hopes of the title and the €577,816 (£383,330) first prize, that hope disappeared for American Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman, who carded a 79 for a nine over par total of 225, after having been penalised two shots for being late on the tee for his 10.17am appointment with playing partner Gregory Bourdy.
“All I can say is that both my caddie and I thought that my start time was 10.27. I saw the sheet last night and looked at it twice,” he said. “He looked at it and put it in his pocket and took it home with him.
“We were here in plenty of time and warming up and hitting balls and all of a sudden, you know what, you’re on the tee in less than a minute. So I took off, running over there, and I was probably between five and ten seconds late. But it is an embarrassing moment, there is no doubt about it.”
