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Lundberg holds one shot lead at The K Club
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Lundberg holds one shot lead at The K Club

Mikael Lundberg birdied the final hole at the K Club to move to 12 under par and take a one stroke lead into the final round of the Smurfit European Open as he chases his maiden title in his rookie season.

The K Club has been a happy hunting ground for Swedish players with Per-Ulrik Johansson and Mathias Gronberg both winning the Smurfit European Open here and once again a Swede has come to the fore, Lundberg shooting a level par 72. He lies a stroke ahead of another Swede in Jarmo Sandelin and Norwegian Henrik Bjornstad on a leaderboard with a distinctly Scandinavian look.

Lundberg, who started the third round with a three stroke lead, started shakily, bogeying the first two holes, before making his first birdie of the day on the par five fourth hole. That was immediately cancelled out by a bogey on the very next hole but again the 27 year old hit back, birdieing the seventh. A birdie on the 12th was followed by a bogey on the 13th but a birdie on the closing hole kept his nose in front.

“The way I played today I am very satisfied being in the lead,” said Lundberg. “I played quite badly and am a little surprised none of the guys behind me shot lower. The first drive was a little nervous and I made a bogey. But the par on the ninth saved my day. I wasn’t expecting a draw and hit a tree, couldn’t reach the green. I then had a pitch and run third and holed from ten feet.

“This is the first time I’ve been in the last group on the final day. I hope to enjoy it. Hopefully today was the bad round out of the way.”

Sandelin charged through the field with a magnificent round of 65, seven under par, to move into a share second place as he chases a fifth European Tour title.

The Ryder Cup player has been out of the limelight for most of the season since the birth of his son Lukas six months ago and is currently languishing in 142nd place in the Volvo Order of Merit. He has only recorded one top ten finish this year but bounced back in style, rolling in seven birdies without a dropped shot to share the lead.

“Far too long since I’ve been here,” he said. “I have a son now, took some time off and I haven’t been practising as much as I should. My position in the Order of Merit is 142nd and if I went on the way I have been, I wouldn’t be on the Tour next year.

“I’m now increasing my practice a lot. It gave me a shake and now it is good to see some king of results from all the practice. There’s no short cut, especially when you don’t have the talent of Tiger Woods.”

Sandelin birdied the first and the fourth but made his move on the homeward stretch, picking up a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th followed by two more on the par five 16th and 18th holes for a back nine of 32.

“I played well on the back nine today,” he added. “Made a few putts and that keeps the score going. It will be interesting to see how I handle the pressure tomorrow and see if the six years on Tour have given me confidence, especially with a Ryder Cup behind me. That was pressure, pressure, pressure.”

Alongside Sandelin on 11 under par is Bjornstad after a two under par round of 70. The Norwegian, playing his second year on The European Tour, has been fighting a liver problem for the past two months but is almost back to full fitness and closed the gap on Lundberg thanks to a round that included six birdies including three in succession from the fourth.

“I was just trying to hit as many fairways and greens as possible so I’m pretty pleased right now because I am playing good golf,” he said. “I made a couple of errors today but that is going to happen around this course and I just tried to be patient.”

A further shot adrift and leading the Irish challenge is Padraig Harrington, who finished birdie-eagle for a round of 69 in his bid to become the first Irishman to win on home soil since John O’Leary in 1982. Harrington also has his eye on a IR£100,000 diamond, on offer from leading jewellers Appleby to the first player who reaches 14 under par on the par fives over the four tournament rounds. Harrington started the round on six under par for the par fives and, with the help of an eagle on the fourth as well as the 18th, is now ten under par over the long holes and has the diamond in his sights.

“I was really pleased with the 17th,” said Harrington. “I needed to make a birdie and that was a big bonus. It gave me the confidence on the 18th to make a birdie and I made eagle.

“The crowds were tremendous today. They were right behind me, even with the late birdie. But I was very erratic and struggled all day.”

Another Irishman Darren Clarke is also right in contention on nine under par despite a triple bogey seven on the 17th when his tee shot found the water on the left. Clarke, the course record holder, shot a 71 to finish on nine under par.

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