Dane Thorbjorn Olesen moved into a three-shot lead after the third round of the Sicilian Open with a sparkling 67 on Saturday.
Youngster closing in on his first European Tour title
Dane Thorbjorn Olesen moved into a three-shot lead after the third round of the Sicilian Open with a sparkling 67 on Saturday.
The 22-year-old played his last 12 holes at the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in six under par, the highlight a 12-foot eagle putt at the par five 14th, as he bids to claim his first European Tour crown.
He charged up the leaderboard on the back nine to go three clear of Canadian Andrew Parr, who matched the leader's 67, and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (69).
Olesen told www.europeantour.com: "I struggled a little bit on the front nine, but managed to hang in there and was pleased to pick up two shots after making a bogey on the sixth hole.
"That got me going a little bit and I was able to make a few more chances on the back nine.
"Sometimes the gusts were so strong, especially on the coast, that you just got blown away. It was tough just to stand up sometimes, let alone play golf."
The Dane is now hoping he can reproduce something similar in his final round. "I know that I'm going to have to play very well tomorrow, because there are a lot of great players up there and you can't win on The European Tour by playing average golf," he added.
"My confidence is very high at the moment because of the way I'm playing, and hopefully I can finish the job off."
Olesen was a runner-up three times in his debut season on the European Tour last year.
Flawless
Parr, the world number 848 fired five birdies in a flawless round of 67 to storm up the leaderboard.
Colsaerts - the highest-ranked player in the event at number 69 - mixed six birdies and three bogeys.
Lloyd Saltman heads a group of three players on eight under, the Scot also going round in 69 with birdies at the second, 11th and 13th.
Soren Kjeldsen carded a one-under 71 to join Saltman alongside Peter Lawrie, who had a second consecutive round of 72 after opening with a 64 on Thursday.
England's Steve Webster, American Scott Pinckney and Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara are a further shot behind on seven under.
Lawrie and Kjeldsen had been among a group of six players tied for the lead overnight, along with David Lynn, Jamie Donaldson, Maarten Lafeber and Pelle Edberg.
Edberg's third round had got off to a flying start with three birdies in the opening four holes, but four successive bogeys between the sixth and ninth knocked the Swede off track.
He eventually finished the round in 75 to sit seven shots off the lead.
