(Reuters) - Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin shot his third consecutive round of seven under par 64 to take a seven stroke lead into the final round of the Open de Madrid as he aims to secure his maiden European Tour title.
Despite missing three putts inside five feet, Jacquelin forged to 21 under par 192 to lead playing partner Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland (68) and the Portuguese Jose Filipe Lima (67), with 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie of Scotland (66) a further stroke back.
Having also shot 64s in the second and third rounds at the same Club de Campo venue last year when finishing fourth, Jacquelin has now produced that score five times in his last six rounds in the Spanish capital.
The 31 year old Frenchman has the label of best player on the European Tour not to have won after finishing second four times, including taking second place spot in the Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open earlier in the season.
Jacquelin is hoping to lose that label on Sunday afternoon. After holing a 25 foot putt on the 18th for his eighth birdie, Jacquelin said: “I’ve been on top of leaderboards before a few times but never by seven shots.
“I've got a few to play with and I intend to just relax and enjoy the finish. I could have been a few more under par if I hadn’t missed the short putts but the key to me doing so well is because I’m rolling the ball so well on the greens and I only missed one fairway today.”
Joint second placed Clarke has not given up hope of overtaking the Frenchman. Clarke said: “He was unbelievably good and 64 was the very worst he could have shot. But strange things can happen in a final round. I know. I lost after leading by six myself.”
In 1999, Clarke led the Smurfit European Open by six strokes going into the final round but lost out to Lee Westwood.
After looking in danger of missing the cut on Friday, the European Tour’s current Number One, Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, made further progress with a 65 to share 11th place, 11 strokes behind Jacquelin.
While Montgomerie does not believe he can catch Jacquelin, he is intent on earning as big a prize as he can to add to the €131,020 he leads Michael Campbell by on top of the Order of Merit with just the season ending Volvo Masters to come for Europe’s top two.
“Who knows, the Order of Merit might come down to what I earn here,” said Montgomerie, who hoes to hold off the challenge of the U.S. Open champion to secure the eighth Order of Merit title of his illustrious career.
