Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner (-16) continues to lead on home soil after carding a 66 in the third round of the Interwetten Open, held at the Schladming Dachstein Golf Club (Oberhaus, Austria). He will head into the fourth and final round tomorrow with a one-shot lead over Scotsman David Law (-15), Englishman Ben Stow (-15), and Italian Filippo Celli (-15).
Up to that second position, so close to the lead, also came Quim Vidal (-13), with an impressive six-under-par in the first fifteen holes, even aiming for the lead, but two bogeys in the final stretch slightly relegated the Spaniard (final round of 65 in this par 69). Nevertheless, Vidal remains in the fight, starting just three shots off the lead, and therefore with every chance, not only to win but also to secure, or almost secure, the goal of promotion to the top division, the DP World Tour, next season.
The Catalan player has once again made the most of the stretch from holes 10 to 15, where he has already accumulated a ten-under-par over the three rounds. It’s true that this stretch doesn’t include the most challenging holes, but it remains a true haven for Vidal, who today boosted his score with birdies on holes 10, 12, 13, and 15, before that unfortunate finish with bogeys on 16 and 18. A few months ago, in Delhi, when he achieved his first and only victory on the HotelPlanner Tour, he went out to play on Sunday as the leader with a three-shot advantage and struggled immensely to get into the groove and defend that lead, eventually winning in a playoff against young Englishman Joshua Berry. This time he will have to play more in ‘hunter mode’ and it is very true that on many occasions this scenario is more comfortable, coming from behind…
Javier Sainz (-11) turned around a round that had stalled with a three-under-par on the second half of the charming Austrian course, still allowing him to aim for a great result. Santi Tarrio (-9), Adri Arnaus (-8), and Rocco Repetto (-7), meanwhile, all played under par, with special mention for Tarrio’s 64, although they seem out of the winning equation. However, with that exaggerated reference of Steinlechner’s 61 in the second round, they could still finish the week much higher and increase their points haul.
Tomorrow it’s an early start, just like today, but even a bit earlier, as players will once again head out in groups of three and from two tees, with the leading match starting at 8:40 in the morning.
