Spain’s Carl Suneson will take a one shot lead into the final day of the OPEN DE SAINT-OMER presented by NEUFLIZE OBC 2007 after overcoming the elements with a fine third round performance.
Amidst some howling, gusting winds – as well as sporadic yet violent rainfall – Suneson emerged at the top of the leaderboard after a one under par 70 took him to six under for the tournament and into a one stroke lead over Englishman Marcus Higley.
Australia’s Peter Fowler and Mikael Lundberg of Sweden are by no means out of the running on four under 209 after respective third round scores 72 and 71, while Frenchman François Calmels leads the home challenge alongside England’s Stuart Davis on three under.
The awkward conditions at the Aa St Omer Golf Club claimed many casualties during the third round, with many players shooting number in the high 70s and low 80s, but Suneson kept his third round going with the help of a brilliant short game.
“I had a good short game to keep things going and it went well today,” conformed the 39 year old, who dropped just one stroke at the par three 17th during the third round.
“It was a good day and as Tiger and the big guys all say, I have done what you need to do and that is given myself a chance to win tomorrow.
“The chance is there and we will see what happens. One thing I do know is that you can’t force these situations and that is one of the hardest things for me to do – I have been forcing things all my life and things don’t happen that way in this game.
“You just have to take a step back and let it happen and believe that your game and experience is good enough.”
Suneson’s experience of the Aa St Omer should hold him good stead, having finished fourth here in 2004 and sixth in 2005.
He is hoping that he can improve on those fine finishes by adding a killer instinct to Sunday’s final round after seeking advice form his great friend and former PGA Champion Ignacio Garrido.
“He has brought instinct back to my game,” said Suneson. “He is very good at that. Instead of thinking everything is down to technique, which is very much in my nature, you have to freewheel it at times and feel the shots, set yourself up and do it.
“Ignacio has helped me a lot that way so that my timing can be more fluent, and then Jason Floyd has helped me technically, so it’s a nice mix.”
