Past champion Thriston Lawrence will take a one-stroke advantage into the final round of the Omega European Masters, with a strong chasing pack of former winners right behind him.
With the event still catching up after lengthy fog delays on Thursday, the third round only began at 3pm on Saturday. Lawrence managed just 12 holes before darkness forced play to be suspended, leaving him to finish early on Sunday.
The South African, who lifted the trophy in 2022, reached 18 under par after completing his third round, one ahead of defending champion Matt Wallace and two clear of two-time winner Matt Fitzpatrick.
Lawrence made a dream start with a 30-foot birdie putt at the 1st before dropping a shot at the 2nd. He responded with a superb run of five consecutive birdies from the 5th hole, highlighted by a 40-foot putt at the 5th, a close-range birdie at the 6th, another at the 7th, a nine-footer at the par-three 8th, and a tap-in birdie at the 9th.
He added another at the 12th on Saturday to move to 17 under before play was halted, then returned Sunday morning to card one more birdie and move to 18 under.
“I’m very, very happy,” Lawrence said. “I started with a nice long putt for birdie, which settled the nerves. Unfortunate bogey on the next, but five birdies in a row after that – I’m really happy with the way I’m putting.
“The putter’s been hot all week. I’ve made more long putts this week than maybe in the last year. I put a new putter in the bag last week and I’m putting with a lot of confidence. There’s still a lot of golf left, but I’ll just try to do the same again.”
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– Report from DP World Tour website
Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Article Link: Lawrence leads into final round at European Masters