Sunday 27 November 2016 08:08, UK
Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen remained on course to give Denmark a first World Cup of Golf victory after they extended their lead to four shots as England crashed out of contention on day three in Melbourne.
Kjeldsen and Olesen combined to shoot a battling two-under 70 in tough, blustery conditions for the foursomes format, taking them to 14 under and four clear of pre-tournament favourites - the United States pairing of Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.
But the English duo of Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan endured a torrid last eight holes featuring four bogeys and a double bogey at the last as they lipped 12 strokes off the pace after returning a 77.
The in-form Danish pair, who took control of the tournament with their superb 60 on day two, recovered from an early mistake at the third with two straight birdies before another at the long eighth took them to the turn in 33.
They picked up another shot at the 10th, although a wayward tee-shot from Olesen put the leaders in deep trouble on the next before they managed to limit the damage to a single bogey.
Olesen atoned with a good putt for birdie at the 13th, but the pair opened the door for the field when they three-putted the 17th green, and Olesen is not taking a big lead for granted heading into the final-day fourballs.
"We showed yesterday that a really low score is possible out there in the fourballs," said Olesen. "I had a seven-shot lead in Turkey and it got down to one shot very quickly, so I know how quick this game can go sometimes. It's definitely not going to be easy.
"There's a lot of great players here and a lot of birdies out there. It's a four-shot lead, which is really nice, but it's not going to be easy."
The Danes will play the final round with Walker and Fowler, who were one of only two teams in the 28-team field to break 70 in the third round as Kingston Heath played at its toughest.
The star US pair dropped a shot at the first after three-putting, but they clawed the shot back at the next and PGA champion Walker drained an excellent putt for birdie at the fifth.
They responded to a bogey at the eighth with two straight birdies, and they were content to grind out the pars on the back nine while picking up one further birdie at the 17th to card a 69 and close on 10 under par.
China, represented by Wu Ashun and Li Haotong, look to be the only other realistic contenders on nine under after they recovered from a dreadful start to return a commendable 72.
They doubled the first and dropped another shots at the second, but they fought back with birdies at four and five, and they made another on 11 while keeping any further mistakes off their card to stay within striking distance of the lead.
But England will not be claiming their third victory in the competition after plummeting from eight under to two under over the inward half.
Wood and Sullivan made a mess of the third and ran up an ugly double bogey, but they responded positively with three consecutive birdies around the turn only to bogey the 11th and 13th.
The Ryder Cup team-mates continued to lose their way over the last three holes, following bogeys at 16 and 17 with another double bogey at the last to complete a forgettable day for the pair.
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