In a week where the leaderboard has been bunched tight almost from the word go, it was no surprise that the third round of the Linde German Masters at Gut Lärchenhof ended with four players – Nick Dougherty, Retief Goosen, Henrik Stenson and Anthony Wall - tied for pole position.
The race for the €500,000 (£340,650) first prize will be an intriguing one as no fewer than 18 players will begin the final day within five shots of the lead but, at 15 under par 201, the above quartet hold the box seats at the Cologne venue.
On paper, the favourite for the title by virtue of his vast experience and title winning credentials around the world, is Goosen and the double US Open champion staked his claim with a third round 66.
In fact, the 36 year old could have taken the lead outright into the final day but, uncharacteristically, he was the only one of the leading quartet to drop a shot over the final three holes, his mistake coming at the short 16th where he pulled his seven iron tee shot left of the green.
But apart from that, Goosen was flawless with four birdies and an eagle elsewhere on his card in the scorching heat, the latter coming as a result of a 25 foot birdie putt on the 509 yard 13th after his eight iron second shot had arrowed the centre of the putting surface.
“The putter has been saving me all week really because I haven’t been driving the ball all that well,” he said. “But I suppose to only hit four fairways today and shoot 66 is still pretty good.
“I am delighted to be in this position because, to be honest, I haven’t really done well here in the past. But it is going very well for me this week so far and if the weather stays like this tomorrow, then I am going to need another low round to win.”
Alongside the South African, England’s Nick Dougherty also carded a 66 to keep alive not only his hopes of his second title of the season, following his victory in Singapore in January, but also his hopes of making his debut for Great Britain and Ireland in The Seve Trophy at The Wynyard Club in two weeks time.
The 23 year old currently occupies the last automatic spot in the rankings, which end after the Linde German Masters, and the man he has to make sure he finishes ahead of in the tournament is fellow Englishman Kenneth Ferrie, who is tied for 16th place on ten under par 206.
“He would have been disappointed that I went past him yesterday and he came out and shot 66 like I did today – that shows the type of player he is,” he said. “It isn’t over yet but I have to go out and try to play this tournament and if Kenny comes and beats me, then so be it.
“But I’m very pleased with what I did out there today. I made more of my fair share of birdies on the back nine today and in fact I have played that in 30 strokes the last two days. Hopefully there are more birdies out there waiting for me tomorrow to enable me to give the title a run.”
Dougherty looked to have done severe damage to his challenge when, from a seemingly ideal position in the fairway at the seventh, he dumped his approach shot into the water to run up a double bogey seven. But he showed tremendous grit and determination to battle back with an eagle and four birdies on the back nine, including three in a row from the 15th.
One of the joint leaders at the start of the day was Dougherty’s fellow countryman Anthony Wall, but that seemed an unlikely scenario at the end of the third round when he dropped three shots in his first six holes. But, like Dougherty, he put the misfortune behind him and battled back with an eagle and four birdies, the final one coming on the last green from 12 feet.
“I know I’m going to need another low round but there is no reason why I shouldn’t score one. I am looking forward to it,” he said. “It is a great challenge and a great test for me. It is nice to be back in the mix again as it has been a long time really but it is nice to still know that I can do it.”
Completing the leading quartet was Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, the two time winner on The European Tour International Schedule producing the best round of the leading four players, a superb and flawless eight under par 64 which featured five birdies on the back nine and three on the front.
“I played a little better than I did yesterday and made some good putts and it came a little bit easier than yesterday,” he said. “A little bit more steady today and I was really happy with the way I handled it. I played good today but it was six under yesterday, eight today, maybe it will be ten tomorrow?
“I think tomorrow I just have to give it 100 per cent and play aggressive and make some birdie putts because there is going to be someone coming out and making a charge when it is this bunched up.
“You can’t really go and protect if you have a one or two shot lead so birdies are the only thing which matter really. You just want to go out and shoot another low score and hope it is good enough.”
Another Englishman David Lynn, winner of The 2004 KLM Open, is on his own in fifth place on 14 under par 202 while double Masters Tournament winner José Maria Olazábal – who had held a share of the second round lead with Wall – slipped back to sixth place on 13 under par 203.
The sheer quality of the field is illustrated by the three players who share seventh place on 12 under par 204, two of last year’s successful European Ryder Cup Team, David Howell and Thomas Levet, and the 2004 PGA Champion at Wentworth Club, Scott Drummond.
It is all to play for.
