Felipe Aguilar remains on course for a wire-to-wire victory at the Lyoness Open powered by ORGANIC+ after producing a third-round 72 to maintain his two shot lead at Diamond Country Club.
The 42 year old, who won the last of his two European Tour titles in 2014, carded four birdies and four bogeys on Saturday to head into the final round on nine under par.
Aguilar held a three stroke advantage as he stood at the 18th tee but dropped a shot at the last to slip back to where he began the day.
Home favourite Sepp Straka, playing his first European Tour tournament since turning professional this year, joined Swede Johan Carlsson and South African Dylan Frittelli on seven under par as the Chilean’s nearest challengers.
Austrian Straka, who started the day four shots behind halfway leader Aguilar, reached the turn in 34 after carding three birdies and a solitary bogey on his front nine. He fell back to six under after dropping another shot at the 11th but recovered in style, reeling off consecutive birdies at the 15th and 16th to get within one shot of the lead, however a bogey at the 17th saw him drop into a tie for second.
Frittelli carded his only bogey at the second before making gains at the fourth, tenth, 11th, 15th and 17th to surge into contention. The Challenge Tour graduate has been amongst the final groups on several occasions this season, including a second place finish at the Volvo China Open in April, as he searches for a maiden European Tour victory.
Meanwhile, Carlsson mixed three birdies with two bogeys to sign for a second successive 71, while Finland’s Mikko Korhonen, England’s Richard McEvoy, South Africa’s Jbe Kruger and Spain’s Carlos Pigem sit a further shot back at six under.
Player Quotes
Felipe Aguilar
“Today I think I left many shots on the golf course, I played quite well and I missed a couple of greens which is normal, and several putts I missed for birdie, so it could have been a little bit better but I’m still in contention and this is what I wanted on Thursday so we will see what happens.
“I think on the greens I left a couple of shots out there that could have made a huge difference for tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow they will go in.
“I like this proposal of Beating the Pro – I think it’s good for amateurs to be around, to share a little bit with us and for us to be spending a little bit of time with them – I think it’s a good concept.
“Some of the greens are going to get really quick and depending on the pin positions, the strategy for tomorrow, even though I will try and keep the same strategy I have been doing the last three days, it’s going to depend on where the pin is going to be on the green so we can have some full shots in there.
Dylan Frittelli
“It was pretty boring on the front nine, shot even par and battled hard in the soft conditions and the back nine it really came alive. A nice chip in on 11 and a good birdie on ten, then finished pretty strong with two birdies on the last four, so pretty pleased with how I played today.
“The iron shot was what really set it up on 17, I hit a great eight-iron in there through the wind, landed behind the hole and it spun a little back. The putt was pretty straightforward, my caddie said it was a little right-to-left then left-to-right and I just rolled it down the hill and it found the hole.
“Yesterday was like playing on an airstrip and then today a soft feather bed, it’s crazy how it changed overnight but I adjusted well to the conditions, it took me probably nine holes to get used to it and I’m sure some of the other guys found it difficult to make that switch, but I’m proud of the way I played today and looking forward to tomorrow.
“I have had some experience this year playing in the last few groups so hopefully that will translate into a good performance tomorrow so looking forward to it.
Sepp Straka
“Nerves were definitely up. I did feel comfortable, I’ve felt comfortable for most of the week but I’m just trying to keep a level head.
“I played with Bernd (Wiesberger) one time maybe when I was 12 years old but we haven’t since then. It was awesome, it was great playing with an idol growing up, I always looked up to him so it was really cool. I’ve never played in front of that many fans so that aspect was great.
“I’ve got to keep trying to put it into good positions, execute my game plan and try and make some putts from there.
“Overall it was pretty good, I didn’t hit the ball as well as I have been but I really managed my game well again today. Had some bogeys but really took advantage of the chances that I had and made some birdies too.
Johan Carlsson
“It was good. It played a bit different the course today, it was a lot softer, the fairways weren’t running at all and the greens were spinning quite a lot so it was more tricky for me.
“I hit a great shot in on 17, a four-iron up to five feet and then a pretty tough downhill putt from right-to-left that I made and that was a big putt.
“I just need to keep playing well. You have to stay patient and let the birdies come to you instead of chasing too much I think because then it’s easier to get down on yourself, so I think stay patient and not chase too much.
Round Three Scores
207 F Aguilar (Chi) 65 70 72,
209 S Straka (Aut) 69 70 70, J Carlsson (Swe) 67 71 71, D Frittelli (RSA) 70 71 68,
210 M Korhonen (Fin) 71 73 66, R McEvoy (Eng) 72 71 67, J Kruger (RSA) 69 73 68, C Pigem (Esp) 70 71 69,
211 A Björk (Swe) 69 74 68,
212 L Bjerregaard (Den) 70 72 70, G Storm (Eng) 68 69 75, D Horsey (Eng) 75 64 73, R Fox (Nzl) 71 70 71, M Baldwin (Eng) 69 72 71,
213 M Wallace (Eng) 71 73 69, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 69 74, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 72 71 70, C Lee (Sco) 73 72 68, Z Lombard (RSA) 70 69 74, O Fisher (Eng) 69 69 75, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 72 72,
214 R McCarthy (Aus) 69 74 71, W Ashun (Chn) 70 75 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 69 71 74, J Suri (USA) 75 69 70, P Maddy (Eng) 71 71 72, S Forsström (Swe) 70 74 70, D Stewart (Sco) 71 73 70, A Chesters (Eng) 67 73 74,
215 R Kakko (Fin) 71 75 69, J Luiten (Ned) 73 72 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 70 72 73, F Fritsch (Ger) 74 71 70, D Im (USA) 72 73 70,
216 J Dantorp (Swe) 71 73 72, P Waring (Eng) 69 76 71, S Gallacher (Sco) 72 72 72, H Porteous (RSA) 71 74 71, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 69 71 76,
217 L Canter (Eng) 70 73 74, R Evans (Eng) 76 70 71, J Stalter (Fra) 68 77 72, M Armitage (Eng) 71 69 77,
218 M Foster (Eng) 72 74 72, A Connelly (Can) 71 75 72, G Stal (Fra) 71 73 74, O Wilson (Eng) 68 74 76, E Pepperell (Eng) 74 72 72, M Schwab (Aut) 72 70 76, B Rumford (Aus) 71 75 72, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 69 74 75,
219 M Tabuena (Phi) 71 75 73, O Stark (Swe) 73 73 73, R Santos (Por) 71 73 75, K Broberg (Swe) 71 75 73, S Khan (Eng) 69 76 74, P Khongwatmai (Tha) 75 70 74, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 74 70 75, Y Yang (Kor) 70 75 74,
220 R Bland (Eng) 74 72 74, M Southgate (Eng) 72 74 74,
221 S Webster (Eng) 71 75 75, B Etchart (Esp) 75 71 75, N Johansson (Swe) 72 74 75,
223 G Boyd (Eng) 73 73 77,
224 C Ford (Eng) 74 72 78,
147 M Brier (Aut) 74 73 0, F Mruzek (Cze) 75 72 0, J Rutherford (Eng) 72 75 0, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 78 0, J Morrison (Eng) 71 76 0, K Horne (RSA) 72 75 0, B Hebert (Fra) 73 74 0, T Detry (Bel) 72 75 0, D Perrier (Fra) 71 76 0, F Schulz (Aut) 73 74 0, S Heisele (Ger) 72 75 0, M Jiménez (Esp) 75 72 0, A Saddier (Fra) 73 74 0, S Gros (Fra) 70 77 0,
148 M Nixon (Eng) 75 73 0, L Slattery (Eng) 71 77 0, N Kimsey (Eng) 71 77 0, O Farr (Wal) 71 77 0, A Wall (Eng) 71 77 0, J Fahrbring (Swe) 73 75 0, R Rock (Eng) 72 76 0, M Weir (Can) 70 78 0, J Roos (RSA) 76 72 0, D Boonma (Tha) 72 76 0, T Linard (Fra) 75 73 0, P Saksansin (Tha) 75 73 0, J Van Zyl (RSA) 67 81 0, J Quesne (Fra) 76 72 0, B Virto (Esp) 74 74 0,
149 P Meesawat (Tha) 74 75 0, A Otaegui (Esp) 72 77 0, B Evans (Eng) 72 77 0, L Gagli (Ita) 70 79 0, J Parry (Eng) 77 72 0, A Knappe (Ger) 73 76 0, D Brooks (Eng) 72 77 0, M Ford (Eng) 72 77 0, L Nemecz (Aut) 76 73 0, A Velasco (Esp) 78 71 0, R Echenique (Arg) 72 77 0, J Allan (Eng) 73 76 0, G Hurley (Irl) 75 74 0, S Tiley (Eng) 77 72 0, L Denk (am) (Aut) 76 73 0,
150 J Winther (Den) 72 78 0, T Chuayprakong (Tha) 73 77 0, M Orrin (Eng) 73 77 0, S Soderberg (Swe) 77 73 0, S Chan (Tpe) 75 75 0, J Ahlers (RSA) 73 77 0, A Cañizares (Esp) 74 76 0, G Bhullar (Ind) 75 75 0, G Havret (Fra) 75 75 0,
151 S Manley (Wal) 73 78 0, S Dyson (Eng) 77 74 0, P Gal (Cze) 75 76 0, P Widegren (Swe) 74 77 0, A Karlsson (Swe) 75 76 0, T Lewis (Eng) 71 80 0, E De La Riva (Esp) 73 78 0,
152 M Jonzon (Swe) 73 79 0, N Elvira (Esp) 72 80 0,
153 P Tangkamolprasert (Tha) 73 80 0, J Heath (Eng) 72 81 0, C Hanson (Eng) 73 80 0,
154 R Green (Aus) 78 76 0, M Trappel (Aut) 76 78 0, M Maukner (am) (Aut) 71 83 0, L Lipold (am) (Aut) 83 71 0,
155 S Henry (Sco) 81 74 0, L Astl (Aut) 75 80 0, R Langasque (Fra) 77 78 0, J Lara (Esp) 79 76 0,
156 C Gaster (Aut) 76 80 0, D Masrin (Ina) 79 77 0,
157 G King (Eng) 81 76 0, P Dedek (Cze) 80 77 0, R Coles (Eng) 80 77 0, C Pfau (Aut) 77 80 0,
158 T Baltl (Aut) 79 79 0, R Saxton (Ned) 79 79 0, L Cianchetti (am) (Ita) 77 81 0,
159 C Fisher (am) (Aut) 81 78 0,
160 S Walker (Eng) 78 82 0, G Folk (am) (Aut) 82 78 0,
161 J Edfors (Swe) 75 86 0,
** G Porteous (Eng) 77 RT 0, M Warren (Sco) 77 WD 0, A Maestroni (Ita) 72 RT 0, R Finch (Eng) RT 0
