Jesper Svensson (-13) is the solo leader at the Open de France after the third round. The Swedish bomber has signed a card of 67 strokes and will start tomorrow with a one-stroke lead over his closest pursuers, Thorbjorn Olesen (-12) and Sam Bairstow (-12), who will join him in the star match on Sunday. Among them should be the champion, but it should not be forgotten that up to fourteen players are separated by a margin of four strokes in the final round. Who knows, even Rasmus Hojgaard (-9) might give himself a chance…
And what about Thomas Detry (-8)? Well, the Belgian, from whom a decisive step forward was expected this week, finished his round today with a triple bogey on the 18th at Golf National, after sending two balls into the water, and has fallen too far behind. It is obvious that for this extraordinary tee-to-green player, the ‘obligation’ to win is becoming increasingly burdensome… Anyway, it could have been even worse, as he still had to sink a nearly two-metre putt to save the triple bogey.
Whatever happens tomorrow, Detry will still have his first Masters Tournament within reach, the only Major he has yet to play, being as he is World Number 59. Certainly, he hasn’t needed to win tournaments to tick off objectives… For Svensson, who already has almost secured one of the ten PGA Tour 2025 cards distributed in Europe, something big is needed to get into the Masters. Not even winning tomorrow on French soil would get him into the world’s top 50, but it would greatly pave the way for the year’s final events. The Swede, let’s remember, already won this year in Singapore, although he did so in a completely different manner than it would be this week, as he started Sunday five strokes off the lead and galloped past everyone with a card of 63 strokes. Tomorrow he needs to stay calm, control, and lead, and do so against a formidable opponent like Olesen, who will be seeking his ninth victory on the DP World Tour tomorrow.
It doesn’t seem that any of the three Spaniards who made the cut will be in the fight. Jorge Campillo (-7) signed a very well-worked 69 today, taking advantage of opportunities and saving a good handful of tricky situations. The Extremaduran would need something like the best card of the week to get into the winning fray, but anything that results in a great finish could get him into the top ten. Meanwhile, Manu Elvira (-4) and Adrián Otaegui (+1) did not manage to beat the course today.
