Rasmus Højgaard remains in the driving seat for a wire-to-wire victory at the Cazoo Open de France after the 21-year-old Dane battled bravely back from a quintuple-bogey eight at the par three second hole at Le Golf National.
The three-time DP World Tour winner carried a six-stroke lead into the weekend in France, but things with horribly awry early on as he found the water three times on the tricky second hole at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.
He sank a 14-foot putt for an eight at the par three and when he followed that up with a bogey at the par five third, Højgaard looked down and out, six over par through the opening three holes. But he delighted the fans with a battling comeback, carding five birdies in the final 13 holes to limit the damage to a three over 74.
That kept him top of the pile on 12 under par, one clear of South Africa’s George Coetzee, who signed for a four under 68 as he targets a sixth DP World Tour victory.
Thomas Pieters, a winner already this season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, moved himself within touching distance of a seventh career title with a five under 66, and he was joined on ten under by Frenchman Paul Barjon whose third round 70 kept kept his dreams alive of a debut victory in his home open.
Player quotes:
Rasmus Højgaard: “To be fair I was pretty far down mentally after that start, it was tough but I had to try tell myself that I’ve been playing good the past few days and I shouldn’t let it bother me too much. I just tried my best to stay in there and try hit some good shots.
“I was very proud of myself to be fair. It was obviously an annoying finish with a bogey on 18, but it was a tough grind. I’m proud that I stayed in there and made a few birdies along the way.
“It’s obviously not the Saturday I wanted but at the same time I’m just happy that I stayed in there and I managed to make some birdies and still have the lead, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
“I just need to be patient, I showed it out there today that I need to be patient and I managed to make a few birdies and not let it affect me too much. Hopefully I’ll get off to a better start but just stay patient and trust what I’m doing.
“It would mean a lot to win to win, every win you get along the way in your career is amazing and I would love to add this one.”
George Coetzee: “I was thinking about 2019 when I finished my round on Friday, I was thinking how am I even in contention here. I think it’s one of the best courses we play and it just catches my eye and keeps me focused. That’s what I try to do better every day, stay focused and not doze off and forget to play golf. I’m a bit too laid back sometimes and this golf course definitely demands that you stay focused.
“I won on the Sunshine Tour recently and that was the first time I ever defended a title. It was nice to tick that box in my career at a course I really enjoyed playing. It obviously gave me a bit of confidence as well and I’m, playing pretty well.
“I’m not really there yet, it’s nice to just be in the mix going into tomorrow and that will get me into practising my mental strategies and try and do as well as possible.”
Thomas Pieters: “At the start of the week, my caddie Adam and I said we’d play really boring this week, which I have – I thought yesterday was the most boring round of golf I’ve ever played in my life. To have one bogey in three rounds, I’m pretty happy with that.
“It’s a shame my girlfriend is not here but my parents and my daughter are here, I’m going to give it my all tomorrow. I didn’t think I would be in this position, obviously being ten back starting Saturday, and after six holes I thought it was a typo when I saw the leaderboard and Rasmus was on nine under.
“Rasmus is obviously playing really well because if you recover from that and you’re still leading a golf tournament, I’m pretty impressed with that.”
Paul Barjon: “It was great, I didn’t make a whole lot of putts today and left a few out there. But making that putt on the last hole in front of all the fans, and probably the toughest hole on the course, is always fun.
“My goal is to get back on the PGA TOUR through the Korn Ferry Tour where I have status, but after a good day tomorrow maybe I’ll come back over here and play some more. I don’t really have a game plan right now but hopefully a win tomorrow would open some doors.
“This is a great opportunity for me, it’s my first time playing this Open and I hope it’s the first of many, and having the chance to win it in my first attempt is quite fun and hopefully I can accomplish it, that would be a good one to have.”
