Sunday 14 August 2016 22:47, UK
Justin Rose posted two eagles over the first five holes on his way to moving one-shot clear of Henrik Stenson and the chasing pack after the third round of the Olympic golf in Rio.
The Englishman fired a six-under 65 on a day of regular change at the top of the leaderboard, to set up a final-round tussle with Ryder Cup team-mate, Stenson, for the medal positions.
Beginning the day four-shots adrift of overnight leader Marcus Fraser, Rose made an early move by holing out from the fairway to card an eagle-two at the second.
Fraser briefly had company at the top of the leaderboard when Thomas Pieters birdied the first, but found himself two clear when the Belgian bogeyed his next two.
The Australian missed the fourth green off the tee to card a first blemish of the day, as Rose's 18-foot eagle at the next handed him the advantage.
Rose doubled his advantage by holing his third shot from off the 12th green, before a sole blemish of the day at the 14th moved him in to a three-way tie alongside Fraser and Stenson.
Stenson had also eagled the fifth in between dropped shots on the fourth and eighth, before recovering from finding the hazard at the 10th to post a birdie-four and adding a gain at the 14th.
The Open champion matched Rose's gain at the next, before the Englishman took the outright advantage by sinking an eight-footer at the 16th.
As Rose closed his round with successive pars, Stenson had a chance to reclaim a share of the lead at the last but shaved the edge of the cup from 10 feet.
Fraser's one-over 72 puts him in outright third on nine under, with Bubba Watson leading the group of nearest challengers a further three strokes back.
The two-time Masters winner opened with four gains in five holes on his way to a second successive 67, which will be remembered for a blemish at the 14th where he had a birdie putt from 30 feet but hit it just four.
"That was the funniest thing ever," the left-hander explained. "At least I'm going to be a legend.
"I fixed my ball mark, took some practice strokes and when I got over it to hit it, some mud came off the bottom of my putter. I tried to stop my stroke and did not stop quickly enough and it went about four feet."
A four-under 67 lifted Padraig Harrington in to a tie for seventh, while a round-of-the-day 64 from Rickie Fowler puts him in the group alongside Danny Willett on three under.
Jaco Van Zyl followed Justin Rose's opening-round ace by sinking a hole-in-one of his own, nailing his tee-shot at the par-three eighth on his way to a level-par 70.
