Marcus Kinhult will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the HNA Open de France after a dramatic moving day at the third Rolex Series event of the season on the European Tour.
The Swede entered the day with a two-shot advantage and extended that to five at the turn thanks to a stunning run of five birdies in a row from the 5th that got him to ten under.
He played the back nine in level par with a 67 to leave the door ajar for the rest of the field, and it was a high-class chasing pack that emerged as his closest challengers at Le Golf National.
England’s Chris Wood recovered from a poor start to sign for a 67 of his own and sit two back, a shot clear of 2017 Masters Tournament winner Sergio Garcia, who fired a stunning 64.
Garcia’s fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm had a birdie-birdie finish with a 68 to sit at six under, two shots ahead of World No 2 Justin Thomas and another American in Julian Suri.
For the third round in succession, Dylan Frittelli fired an even-par 71 on a day when the South Africans struggled to cope with the demands of the course. Frittelli’s round was going smoothly, with an eagle on the 4th from some distance after finding the green with his drive, after going out in 32 before a disastrous nine on the 13th sending him one over for the day before a late birdie.
He remains inside the top 20 and will be looking to avoid the big number on Sunday as he plays his way to more Race to Dubai points.
Richard Sterne hovered just inside the top 50 after a 71 with Dean Burmester (76), George Coetzee (76) and Jacques Kruyswijk (80) all going the wrong way.
