Matt Wallace closed with a 73 after high winds made a return leading to high scores on moving day. The Englishman made just three birdies and six bogeys to head into the final day with a four-shot lead at 11-under.
“Where do I start? Brutal, really hard. Felt I hit the ball just as good, in the right areas – they were the wrong areas by the looks of it,” said Wallace.
“Like 17, potentially impossible? I remember saying to Jamie (Laing, his caddie), ‘maybe land it short?’. But you don’t think like that, we are unbelievable golfers in hindsight, but what a great up-and-down I must say. I didn’t think I would get that up-and-down.
“The other day I was saying it was cold and windy, but that was crazy, that was mental. The greens were fantastic but just really fast as well. Man, that was tough, Jamie and I are very tired now.
“Today wasn’t about really shooting under par, it was about keeping my lead and I did that and I will try and take the ego out of the three over, which I’m not happy about those type of scores but I probably left two or three shots out there which would have been an unbelievable score.”
Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia came closest to catching up to the leader, climbing within two shots after a 23 foot birdie putt at the 3rd but a double bogey at the next hole and another bogey at the 8th pushed him back and he closed with a 71 to finish in solo second place at 7-under.
England’s Andrew Johnston lies a shot further back in a share of third place alongside Sweden’s Henrik Norlander after rounds of 72 and 73 respectively.
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