Germany’s Alex Cejka takes a two-shot lead into the final round of the Trophée Lancôme after a third round 66 at St-Nom-La-Bretèche but among those hot on his heels is the current Volvo Order of Merit leader Darren Clarke. Also on nine under par alongside Clarke is South African Retief Goosen and the Scottish pair of Stephen Gallacher and Dean Robertson.
Cejka picked up six birdies and only dropped one shot on the 11th as he chases a fourth European Tour title.Clarke also fired six birdies in the testing windy conditions, his only blemish also coming at the 11th where he hooked his drive behind trees and fired his third shot over the green, eventually taking a six that cost him a share of the lead.
Clarke currently leads the Volvo Order of Merit by just over €13,000 from Lee Westwood but victory tomorrow would not guarantee him top spot with several more lucrative events still to come.
"We are almost just jockeying for position at this stage," he said. "It's all going to come down to the last couple of events but it would be nice to keep on accumulating before we get there.
"It would be great to win the Volvo Order of Merit – Monty has done it for seven years and that's an outstanding achievement.
"To finish number one on the Tour would be a fantastic honour. If you're number one amongst your peers in anything it's great to do that."
Meanwhile Gallacher, the nephew of former Ryder Cup captain Bernard, birdied the last three holes for a 67 to move into a tie for second.
Robertson had a rollercoaster round after beginning the day one off the lead following a superb 65 on Friday. The Paisley golfer went out in level-par 36 that contained three bogeys, one birdie and an eagle when he holed from a bunker on the eighth, and also birdied the last for a 70.
Goosen shot the round of the day with seven birdies in a flawless 64 to signal a return to top form.
"It was very windy but I picked the right clubs today and putted well," said Goosen, who last year won the Novotel Perrier Open de France and had five second places on his way to finishing fifth in the Volvo Order of Merit.
"I've played terrible compared to last year, it's been a funny year. I started off well but had a bit of slump and was fired by my caddy in America. I was playing so bad he went off to work for Sergio Garcia!
"But I had a lesson from Nick Price at the NEC Invitational and it's all started to come together.
"I was struggling with my driving but kept the ball in play today apart from the last few holes. I hit it into the tress on 16 and 17 which are both downwind, so it could have been even better."
Video Highlights Day 3
