British Masters: Alex Noren delighted with flying finish to round three
Sunday 16 October 2016 00:09, UK
Alex Noren was delighted to walk off the 18th green feeling "amazing" after he ended the third day of the British Masters armed with a commanding three-shot lead at The Grove.
Noren admitted he was not on top of his game and had to battle hard for pars after missing a number of fairways, but he managed to keep a bogey off his card as a six-birdie 65 lifted him to 15 under par.
The Swede capped a brilliant day in style when he sank a huge 50-foot putt for birdie at the last when he feared he was in three-putt territory, and closing with three birdies in four holes gave him plenty of momentum to take into the final round.
"I struggled off the tee," said Noren, who is bidding to become the first three-time winner on the European Tour this season. "I was always in the crowd, but I thought to myself if I get it around, keep the putter good then there's a chance for Sunday.
"Obviously on 18, it was an amazing feeling because I thought it was a tough putt, and you can easily three-putt that and come off with a sour taste in your mouth. Now it feels great. I've three-putted those a lot of times, so sometimes you've got to get lucky.
"But I know from experience that it's not that easy to hold leads. Anybody can come from behind and shoot eight under. You never know. I'm just trying to work with my coach and my caddie and if I manage to pull it off, I do."
Overnight leader Richard Bland, still searching for his maiden European Tour title in his 395th start, opened up with two straight birdies but struggled for the remainder of his round, although he managed to salvage a 69 with birdies at 15 and 18 that kept him within striking distance of Noren.
"I flushed it on the range this morning and started great and then I just kind of lost my way a little bit for nine or 10 holes," said the English journeyman. "I played good the last five holes to keep myself in touch with Alex and it's all to play for.
"Sometimes you've got to get it done a little ugly and I did that today. I said to my caddie, if that's our worst day and we shoot 69, we should be in with a good shout depending on what Alex does. He's a class player. He's only going to go forwards, and we've got to go try and catch him."
Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood will go into the final round four off the pace after a 68, during which he admitted he had not been as hard on himself as he was on the second day.
"I didn't moan as much," said Fleetwood, who has soared up the Race to Dubai standings having finished no lower than 15th in his last four starts. "I didn't have as much to moan about early on, I had to just set off with being normal.
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"I felt quite good and my game felt all right. My irons weren't quite on, and then I missed a couple tee shots toward the end, but one bogey on a Saturday is always good, especially with the pins tucked away. I'd like to be a couple closer, but it's golf, isn't it. Anything can happen."
