Chris Wood fired a second consecutive 68 to open up a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Nordea Masters at Barsebäck Golf and Country Club.
With winds gusting around the tree-lined Malmö layout over the first three days, nobody has managed to go lower than 68, but Wood added a pair of them to his opening 74 to sit at nine under, a shot clear of Frenchman Benjamin Hebert and Italian Renato Paratore.
The tall Englishman entered the day four shots behind overnight leader Jamie Donaldson, but carded seven birdies and two bogeys to get his nose in front on a congested leaderboard in Sweden, with over 31,400 fans in attendance.
Dane Thorbjørn Olesen was at seven under, after finishing his round with a double-bogey, a shot clear of Donaldson, England’s Max Orrin and South Korean Jeunghun Wang.
Wood will be looking for his fourth European Tour title on Sunday afternoon, and his first since he claimed the BMW PGA Championship 12 months ago.
‘It felt like quite an easy 68 for me,’ he said. ‘I was four behind JD to start with and I’ve more than closed the gap. That’s all I was looking to do today.
‘I played lovely last week at Wentworth and lost a lot of shots on the greens. I’ve done some really good work over the weekend and we’re making a bit of progress. It’s nice to see a few go in because that gives you a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence.
‘It’s not been far off all year, without showing any results. It’s really frustrating, because I know some good golf is round the corner. I’ll keep doing what I am and the results will come.
‘If there’s wind this sort of strength tomorrow, there’s going to be guys who shoot four, five, six under. There’s always one that comes out, but I can’t do anything about that. If I do what I have done all week, I’ll be in with a chance.’
Paratore bogeyed the first after missing the green, but bounced straight back with a smart approach to the second and chipped in on the fourth to hold the solo lead.
Third-round leader Chris Wood was happy with his five under par third round at the Nordea Masters.
A bogey after missing the green on the sixth dropped him back into a share and, after making a birdie earlier on the same hole, Olesen made his move with Wood hot on his heels.
Olesen put his second on the par five ninth to six feet for an eagle and the lead, and then holed from the fringe on the tenth to get to eight under. Playing partner Wood had birdied the first and fifth with a bogey on the sixth, but he went birdie-birdie on the ninth and tenth to sit just a shot off the lead.
Olesen and Wood both took advantage of the par five 12th and Wood added another gain on the 13th, with an Olesen bogey on the next handing the 29 year old the lead.
Both men took advantage of the par five 16th, but then stumbled late on, with Olesen losing a ball on the last and Wood failing to get up and down from the sand.
That left the door open for the rest, with Paratore birdieing the 13th and 16th to sign for a 71, and Hebert a picture of consistency with gains on the second, ninth, 12th and 16th in his 70.
Wang also fired a 70, with Orrin signing for a 72 and Donaldson a 75 to leave them a shot ahead of defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick, Frenchman Alexander Levy and Portuguese José-Filipe Lima.
