PAUL DUNNE WILL take a one shot lead into the final round of the Open de Espana after a birdie finish ensured he remained atop the leaderboard in his bid to claim a second career title.
Dunne has led in Madrid since the opening round and produced another impressive display this afternoon as he picked up three shots before the turn, and then another on the 12th hole.
The Wicklow man then showed huge resolve to scramble to save par on 14, 15 and 16 but after finding the water on the par-three 17th, carded his first bogey of the day, dropping back towards the chasing pack which includes home favourites Nacho Elvira and world number four Jon Rahm.
But Dunne, like he has done all week, bounced back with a birdie on the last to head into Sunday in pole position to follow in the footsteps of Irishmen Eddie Polland, Eamonn Darcy, Pádraig Harrington and Peter Lawrie to win this tournament.
The 25-year-old signed for a four-under par round of 68 to sit on 17-under, one stroke clear of Elvira and two of Rahm and Swede Henric Sturehed.
Dunne has continued his impressive early-season form at Centro Nacional de Golf after back-to-back top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, and now he’ll look to make that count on Sunday with a second European Tour title now very much in his sight.
He was three-under through the front nine thanks to successive gains at five, six and seven and he picked up another birdie at the 12th.
One roll away from a closing eagle...
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) April 14, 2018
But @dunners11 leads into the final round. pic.twitter.com/RHAbB5tVg0
The only blip on his scorecard was that bogey four at the 17th, where his ball ended in the water, but he reclaimed that dropped shot immediately on the par-five last.
“It’s probably the best my swing has felt, the best my body has felt like it’s been moving, but I just didn’t pull the shots off,” said Dunne.
“There was a lot of grinding there on the back nine but I’m happy to get in with four under. I probably wouldn’t have taken it at the start of the day but given the shots that I hit, I’m pretty happy with it leading into tomorrow.
“Everything feels good, the game feels great, I just didn’t pick shots. I hit a few shots without having a shot in mind so that’s something to work on for tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll have a good day. I’m confident about tomorrow.”
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