PAUL DUNNE WAS unable to maintain his place towards the top of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as a level-par third round saw him drop down the leaderboard.
The Greystones rookie started the day one off the lead but five bogeys cancelled out as many birdies at Carnoustie and he now finds himself seven shots off the pace.
Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen holds that lead after a seven-under par round of 65 in Saturday gave him some breathing space at the summit heading into the final day.
The 25-year-old is three shots clear as he searches for a third European Tour victory and the the biggest of his fledgling career yet.
Olesen shook off a bogey at the par-four opening hole at St Andrews before reeling off eight birdies in a third straight round in the 60s.
Dunne’s day started with a setback on the first and although he repaired the damage on the par four third, consecutive birdies on eight and nine saw Dunne slip further out of contention.
On his professional debut, the 22-year-old has once again shown his propensity to compete with the best on the biggest stage and he provided more evidence of his mental fortitude with four straight birdies after the turn.
At that point, Dunne found himself firmly back in contention in a tie for second but the bubble burst with two more bogeys down the final stretch.
He finds himself in a tie for 13rd place and with work to do if he is to propel himself into contention on Sunday.
Germany’s Florian Fritshch, looking for his maiden EPGA victory, is Olesen’s closest pursuer and alone in second spot on 14-under following a bogey-free round at Kingsbarns that included an eagle, at the par-five third, and six birdies in a round of 64.
Frenchman Benjamin Hebert holds down third place after 54 holes and is 13-under thanks to six birdies against just one bogey at Carnoustie.
South Africa’s four-time major winner Ernie Els remains in contention after a fine round of 66 left the man known as “The Big Easy” in a six player group, six shots off the lead.
With additional reporting from - © AFP, 2015.
