Lawrie leads Scots challenge at Vilamoura
FOUR Scots will tee off in the top 20 when the final round of the Portugal Masters gets under way today. Overnight leader Marc Warren slipped to seventh place on 15 under par after a 70 yesterday but is only three shots behind Anders Hansen and Mikko Korhonen at the top.
Paul Lawrie is a shot closer to the Swede and the Finn after a 65 lifted him into a share of fourth place at Vilamoura. Stephen Gallacher is in a tie for eighth on 14 under after a 64, with Richie Ramsay two shots behind after a 69. Hansen shot a sensational, flawless nine-underpar 62 in his third round to soar up the leaderboard, with Korhonen carding a 64 that included eight birdies and a bogey.
Padraig Harrington was a shot behind the pair after a 67 as he chases his first European Tour win in eight years.
Lawrie was on 16 under alongside England’s Chris Paisley and defending champion Andy Sullivan, after a round that included an eagle at the par-five 12th as well as five birdies and a single bogey. Warren picked up three birdies in his first eight holes but double- bogeyed the ninth and had bogeys at the 10th and 11th before adding another birdie at the 12th.
Harrington had led at the turn after making four birdies on the front nine but he came home in level par. “I’m happy with that,” he said. “When I got it through 10 holes as I did, if I pushed on a couple it would take a lot of people out of contention tomorrow.
“There’s plenty of guys now that feel they can shoot a low one in there – eight, nine, 10 under par as we’ve seen. I’ve got to play well tomorrow. A lot of work to be done.”
Meanwhile, Russell Knox produced a solid third round of four-under-par 68 to stay in contention at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
Scotland’s world No 20 ended the day in a tie for second with defending champion Justin Thomas, but with four strokes to make up on leader Anirban Lahiri.
Chasing his first PGA Tour title, Lahiri scorched around TPC Kuala Lumpur with nine birdies in a round of 65 which left him 19 under par for the tournament.
Knox had gone even better on Friday, when his 63 thrust him into contention for a third PGA Tour title, but the 31-year-old admitted he wasn’t at his best yesterday in a round that saw him card five birdies and a bogey.
“I didn’t feel great over the ball so it was a bit of a struggle,” Knox said. “My body just didn’t feel as good. This is a course where you’ve got to play great on the last day to win because there’s going to be people that do it. I need to be super aggressive tomorrow.”
Lahiri is the reigning Asian Tour No 1 and made his move late in the round with four birdies in his final five holes.
The 29-year-old is bidding to become just the second Indian, after Arjun Atwal, to win on the PGA Tour.