Sunday 26 July 2015 17:11, UK
Sheffield pair Matt Fitzpatrick and Danny Willett hold a share of the lead after an eventful third round at the Omega European Masters.
Fitzpatrick recovered from a first-hole bogey to fire five birdies on the back nine and card a six-under 64, while Willett fought back after dropping four shots over three holes to stay at the top of the leaderboard.
After bogeying the first and the third at Crans-sur-Sierre, Willett sprayed his second shot at the next in to the trees and ran up a double-bogey six, but moved back to 12 late in his round by nailing a 30-foot eagle at the 15th.
“It wasn’t the best of days,” Willett told Sky Sports 4. “It could have got away from us early doors, so it's good to hang in there and finish as we did.
“It's tricky with it gusting up strong at times, but hopefully that's our bad one out the way ahead of tomorrow.”
Chasing his first win on the European Tour, Fitzpatrick followed a 20-foot birdie at the 13th with further gains at the next two holes, before holing another long putt at the 17th and leaving a 25-footer at the last just short.
Raphael Jacquelin remains two shots off the pace despite posting eight birdies in a bizarre two-under 68, with defending champion David Lipsky a further stroke back after having to take a penalty drop from the trees and bogeying the 18th.
After holing long birdie putts at the second and third, Jacquelin followed up a triple-bogey seven at the fourth with a two-putt bogey at the next before going on a run of five successive gains.
Dropped shots at the 11th and 15th saw the Frenchman slide back down the leaderboard, before he bounced back with a 20-foot gain at the last.
"It's a crazy game," Jacquelin told Sky Sports 4. "At least I played under par in the end and I'd have taken that before the round, so very pleased with that. I played solid, except for two drives so I'm going to keep that in mind when I start tomorrow as the rest was very solid.
“The putter was pretty hot, so if I can keep the ball in play it will be good. It was difficult today with a lot of wind, but the way I've been playing in the past month has been a lot better.”
South Korean duo Seukhyun Baek and Y.E Yang both drifted four strokes behind the leaders after posting four-over 74s, with Tyrrell Hatton and first-round leader Gregory Havret in the group on seven under.
Amateur Marcus Kinhult's hopes fell apart on the back nine after briefly holding a share of the lead, posting four consecutive bogeys before finishing his round with a triple-bogey seven after finding the hazard, while Sergio Garcia heads in to Sunday's final round seven back despite picking up four shots over his final three holes.
Watch the final round of the Omega European Masters live on Sunday from 10am on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
