Ramsay roars at Crans

Richie Ramsay: flawless round in difficult conditions

Richie Ramsay stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the Omega European Masters after carding a third round 64 - the best round of the week at Crans-sur-Sierre in the Swiss Alps.

After heavy overnight rain and morning fog caused a 100-minute delay to the start of the third round, Ramsay defied the cold conditions in a flawless six-birdie round.

The deluge of rain damaged the course to the extent that organisers were forced to convert the par-four sixth into a 140-yard par-three, but Ramsay cared little as he produced some classy shot-making.

The Scot got into a good rhythm from the off as he birdied three of the first five holes, and he took his momentum into the back-nine with further birdies at 10 and 11.

The 29-year-old picked up one further shot at the long 15th and parred safely in to set a 54-hole target of 11 under par.

Ramsay is two clear of his in-form compatriot Paul Lawrie, who eagled the first and birdied the next before giving shots back at the third and fifth.

Lawrie then responded with four consecutive birdies, and he made another at 12 before he bid for a second straight victory took a hit when he ran up an ugly seven at the 14th.

Four closing pars earned him a 67 and a share of second with Danny Willett, who birdied three of the last four holes to cap an erratic 68 that featured an eagle and three bogeys.

Overnight leader Julian Quesne is a further shot adrift after returning a mixed-bag of a 70, six bogeys offsetting six birdies, while Jamie Donaldson (66) and Mathias Gronberg (65) both impressed as they move to eight under.

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