A combination of his own excellent form and the inability of his playing partners to follow his third round lead allowed Daniel Vancsik of Argentina to stamp his dominance on the Madeira Islands Open BPI.
Vancsik put together a fine third round of four under par 68 to post a 54 hole total of 14 under 202 and open up a four shot lead on his closest challenger, Mads Vibe-Hastrup of Denmark at Santo da Sera Golf Club.
Christian Cévaër of France and Spain’s Santiago Luna, who began the day in the company of Vancsik hoping to overtake him at the top of the leaderboard, saw their respective challenges damaged with disappointing finishes to their third rounds.
Cévaër dropped two shots over the last three holes to move back to nine under and third place. Luna, meanwhile, covered the last four holes in one over to remain on eight under par for the tournament and in a tie for fourth with Scotsman Euan Little, whose third round 69 saw him move from tied eighth at the start of the day.
On a day when the sun finally broke through the low lying clouds to reveal the stunning beauty of this outstanding mountaintop venue, Vancsik avoided his playing partners’ disappointment by continuing to play some glorious golf.
His bogey-free 68 saw him accelerate ahead of the chasing pack, and gave him the best opportunity of his career to secure a maiden European Tour victory.
The prospect of such an important victory will make Sunday’s final round a nerve-wracking experience for the 30 year of from Buenos Aires who recently teamed up with a new coach in José Cantero, but he feels ready to win on European golf’s biggest stage, having won three times on the Challenge Tour.
“This is the first time that I have had such a good chance to win on The European Tour,” said Vancsik. “Tomorrow I will have some nerves because I know that if you lose your mind on this course then you can forget it.
“It is a surprise that I feel so good about the game so soon after changing my coach. I played well last week but missed the cut, and this week I have played very well but I did not expect to be in this position after changing so much in my game recently.
“Now I have a great chance to win on The European Tour, and I would love to do that after wining on the Challenge Tour and the Tour de Las Americas.”
Vibe-Hastrup is planning to put early pressure on Vancsik in the hope that he can draw the Argentine closer to the chasing pack, as he himself seeks a maiden European Tour victory.
“Obviously it will depend what he does,” said the Dane, “but I am playing really well so that is one positive for me and I can take confidence from that.
“I have to try and put pressure on him if he makes mistakes, and hopefully I can enjoy it as well as this is the first time I have been in the last group for the fourth round of a European Tour event.”
