Sunday 29 September 2019 14:26, UK
Matthew Southgate surged into a share of the 54-hole lead after firing an impressive 65 on a third day of low scoring at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Southgate capped his round with his eighth birdie as he closed on 20 under par alongside Victor Perez, who blitzed Kingsbarns for nine birdies in a 64, while the likes of Tony Finau and Luke Donald also made significant moves on the Old Course as Rory McIlroy slipped 10 shots off the lead.
Perez, who opened the tournament with a 64 at St Andrews on Thursday, matched that score at neighbouring Kingsbarns as he followed a solid 33 on the back nine with five consecutive birdies from the second, although he did get into trouble at the short eighth and dropped only his fourth shot of the week.
But the Frenchman bounced back to birdie the ninth and set the clubhouse target, which was soon equalled by Southgate, who ran up a bogey-six at the 14th - his fifth - before reviving his challenge for a maiden professional victory with a rare birdie at the Road Hole 17th.
Southgate also birdied the 18th and first holes before picking up further shots at the fifth, sixth and ninth to card his second 65 of the week as the leading pair opened up a two-stroke lead over English veteran Paul Waring heading into the final round at St Andrews.
Waring made five birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free 65 at Carnoustie and has completed 54 holes with just one bogey on his scorecard, while Finau's 66 at St Andrews lifted him to 17 under alongside Sweden's Joakim Lagergren, who closed out his 68 at the Old Course with an eagle-two at the ninth.
Donald also finished with an eagle-two as he pitched in from just over 50 yards on the 18th at St Andrews in a fitting end to a 64, the former world No 1 racing to 16 under and in contention for his first victory since his successful defence of the BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth, six-and-a-half years ago.
Tyrrell Hatton, the 2016 and 2017 champion, stayed in the hunt for a third win after he recovered from an early mistake to card a 67 at St Andrews and get within five of the lead, with Justin Rose a further shot behind after he was unable to hit the heights of his second-round 64.
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Rose was just two off the lead overnight but lost ground throughout a disappointing Saturday before a birdie at the last, his first of the inward half, salvaged a 70 which left him six strokes behind Southgate and Perez.
McIlroy, meanwhile, will have the team competition at the top of his priorities on the final day after he appeared in danger of missing the cut when he covered the first 13 holes in level par.
Needing a strong finish to extend his tournament, the world No 2 obliged with birdies at the 14th and 16th before he again flirted with the cut line when he bogeyed 17, although he hit back with another birdie at the last to round off a 70.
At 10 under par, McIlroy is almost certainly out of the running for the individual title, but he and his father Gerry are just one shot off the lead in the team competition, currently co-led by Tommy Fleetwood and Andrea Pavan with their respective partners, while Donald and Jamie Redknapp fired a better-ball 57 to get within two of the leaders.
But, while McIlroy did just enough to make the cut, his playing partner for the third day, world No 5 Jon Rahm, crashed out as he mixed four birdies with five bogeys in a wayward 73 which saw him finish outside the top 100 on four under par.
