Denmark's Søren Kjeldsen took a giant step towards his maiden title on The European Tour International Schedule when a superb five under par 67 gave him a commanding lead after the third round of The Diageo Championship at Gleneagles.
The 28 year old Dane started the third day one shot clear of the field but a fine showing on the PGA Centenary Course saw him move to nine under par 207 and stretch his advantage to five shots, his closest challengers being England’s Paul Broadhurst and Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth who ended on four under par 212.
Never having stood astride the winners’ podium, it was reasonably expected that Kjeldsen might have been a little nervous as he started out in pole position, but nothing could have been further from the truth.
The man currently in 22nd position on the Volvo Order of Merit after an ultra consistent season, flew out of the blocks with three birdies in the first three holes before adding another two at the seventh and eighth to be out in scintillating figures of 31.
Although his scoring was not quite so hot on the back nine, he did manage three birdies to counteract his three dropped shots for 36 to give himself a healthy cushion going into the final round.
“Birdieing the first three holes and going out in 31 was unbelievable,” he said. “I felt really good on the range and I felt like I knew what I was doing. I felt good out there and I started making a few putts. It sounds easy and it feels easy when you are playing well but you can see from the back nine that very quickly it can get difficult again.
“I hit a couple of loose shots and made a couple of bad decisions on the back nine so the 18th was very important for me. To pitch to 12 feet and hole the putt for birdie was a nice feeling and a good way to finish.”
Alongside him, Paul Broadhurst was equally pleased with his 71 which helped him into second place, the 1991 Ryder Cup delighted because of the brave way he battled back from an uncertain start to his third round.
A poor drive at the first cost him an immediate bogey five and when he miscued a seven iron at the sixth hole, he was two over par for the round. But the 37 year old gritted his teeth and got his challenge back on track, shedding no more shots and picking up birdies at the ninth and 12th before, like his playing partner Kjeldsen, birdieing the last.
“I struggled off the tee today,” he admitted. “The confidence in that part of the game wasn’t there and that was the difference. But I hung in well and when I was two over after six, who knows what might have happened, I could have been looking at a 78.
“But I battled well, I knew I wasn’t hitting it that well, it was just a case of grinding it out and trying to make the best score as you can. Tomorrow I will try and get it in play, which I did in the first two days.
“That’s the priority round here, you can score from the middle of the fairway, you can’t if you are hacking out of the rough and that’s what happened today. Nice to finish with a birdie four though, and I had a couple of good up and downs at the 14th and 15th which kept me going as well.”
In the four years of The Diageo Championship there has never been a Scottish winner and the leading home contender this year is Alastair Forsyth, who carded a 69 to move alongside Broadhurst on four under par 212, although it will be the Scot who partners Kjeldsen in the final round.
Forsyth carded five birdies and only dropped two shots and pronounced himself happy with his afternoon’s work.
“Overall I’m pretty pleased with the way things went today,” he said. “I played well, and drove the ball well round here which is crucial to give yourself a chance, largely kept out of trouble and in play.
“I thought if I could have finished three-four to get me to six under that would have been right in with a good chance. But who knows what is going to happen tomorrow. The wind might blow or anything but yes, I still think I am in with a shout.”
One shot behind Broadhurst and Forsyth is defending champion Adam Scott. The 22 year old Australian, who suffered with a virus in last week’s US Open Championship, shrugged off the effects of a head cold in Scotland to post a third round 66, the best round of the day, to move to fourth on three under par 213.
Scott was flawless, his only departures from par being six birdies, five of those coming in the last eight holes in an explosive ending to his round.
“Defending a title is important and you want to hang on to it for as long as possible,” he said. “Yesterday was disappointing because the poor way I finished almost shot myself out of the tournament. But I am playing well enough to win and all I need is to get a couple of putts going my way.”
Three players share fifth place, Spain’s Miguel Angel Martin and the Scottish duo of Stephen Gallacher and Colin Montgomerie. The latter pair will play together in the final round, a coupling guaranteed to attract the bulk of the crowds on the PGA Centenary Course.
