Final-hole birdie ties lead
SWEDEN’S Niclas Fasth and Portugal’s Jose-Filipe Lima share a two-shot lead after the third round of the BMW International Open.
An eagle on the 11th carried first-round joint-leader Lima back to front of the pack, but second-round front-runner Fasth climbed back to the top of the leaderboard with him after a closing birdie at Eichenried, where a strong wind affected scoring.
A two-under 70 by Lima and 73 by Fasth left the pair 11-under on 205, two shots in front of South Afric’s David Frost (70), France’s Thomas Levet (72) and Britain’s Nick Dougherty (71).
Peter Fowler is the best-placed Australian, seven shots off the pace.
Lima, battling back to form after a worrying time with back problems, said he had tried to stay calm about missing fairways and putts in the windy conditions, on a course toughened up by thicker rough this year.
Lima, born in Versailles where his father worked at St Nom la Breteche golf course, shrugged off his bad holes to contend strongly again.
After falling back with a double-bogey on the 8th, he vaulted ahead of the field with a raking 45-foot putt on 11.
“I stuck to the same gameplan I’ve had all week and thought calmly,” said Lima. “If I missed some shots or putts I tried to forget it and get on with it.”
While Lima is trying to add to his 2004 St Omer Open success, Fasth is looking for his sixth tournament victory, the week after finishing fourth in the US Open.
He began confidently enough and increased his overnight lead to three shots, but wavered with four bogeys on the front nine to allow Lima to take over.
Even then the Swede nearly edged ahead on the last, where his eagle putt just failed to drop.
Fasth waved aside a suggestion that he might have been feeling the effects of his US Open efforts.
“I might well have felt more energetic if I’d had a week off but I’ve cut back on practice and made a little bit of a compromise this week and I’m still strong,” he said.
Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez finished three shots off the lead.
The European Tour triple winner boosted his round of 69 with an eagle two on the 16th, driving the 300-yard green and holing a 12-foot putt.
Germany’s Bernhard Langer’s bid to claim the only home title he has not won looked good when he raced to six-under for the day by the 13th, but the 49-year-old dropped two strokes in the last three holes for a 68 which left him five shots off the lead.
Reuters