Monday 30 March 2015 13:13, UK
Scottish duo Richie Ramsey and Andrew McArthur share the clubhouse lead with Frenchman Romain Wattel after the third round of the Trophy Hassan II on Saturday.
The trio all sit on seven-under after a low scoring day where the leaders stumbled on the closing holes in Agadir, as 12 players lie within two strokes of the lead heading in to the final round.
Overnight joint-leader Ramsey carried a one shot advantage into the 18th hole, before a wayward tee shot and his second stroke coming back off a branch led to a fourth bogey of the round.
The Scot had recovered from a dropped shot at the first by making three gains in four holes from the third, but was only to add one further birdie in a third-round 71, while Wattel picked up four shots in his last four holes to sign for 67 and snatch a share of the lead.
McArthur surged up the leaderboard during the afternoon and had reached eight-under by following up an eagle at the par-five 15th with a birdie at the next, but drove into the trees on the last and had to settle for a 67.
In contention
George Coetzee, who needs to win to book a trip to Augusta, staged a superb fightback to keep his hopes of qualifying for the Masters alive.
The South African found himself six shots off the lead after a front nine, but carded five birdies and one bogey on the back nine to card a 71 and join a seven-strong group on six-under.
"I am quite happy," Coetzee said. "I'm quite surprised the guys haven't gone lower. I've been battling away the last couple of days but happy to be in the mix.
"I made some silly errors, mental errors, but I feel like I am still in a good space so happy with the comeback today and hopefully it puts me in good stead for tomorrow."
Former champion David Horsey, Ireland's Kevin Phelan and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo all feature in the pack one adrift alongside Richard Bland, who reeled off three successive birdies in a one-under 71.
“I think it was a day where you couldn’t really do that much,” Bland told Sky Sports 4. “It was pretty tough. As you can tell by the scores the leaders haven’t gone anywhere, so it was a day where it was about just keeping the bogeys off the card.
“If it’s like the first three days then you’re likely to see ten-under being the number, so I’ll hopefully go out there tomorrow and hole some more putts.”
Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen's only blemish of a three-under 69 came with a bogey at the troublesome 18th, while Jaco Van Zyl posted a double-bogey on the same hole to miss the chance to become outright leader.
A bogey-free back nine 32 from Wade Ormsby keeps the Australian within two of the lead, while Tommy Fleetwood is five shots adrift after struggling to a 73 which included a triple-bogey eight on the fifth.
Watch the final round of the Trophee Hassan II on Sunday live from 3pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
