Higgins on the straight and narrow
Ernie Els is tied for the lead in Munich. Picture © Getty ImagesSuper straight David Higgins knows that will a little more luck on the greens he could be even further up the leaderboard in the BMW International Open in Munich.
The Waterville man has made just three bogeys in 54 holes, carding a two under par 70 to share 24th place with Dubliner Peter Lawrie on eight under par - seven strokes behind leaders Ernie Els, Alexander Levy and Alex Noren on a rain-delayed day at Golfclub München Eichenried.
One of the straightest hitters in European golf - he’s 11th for driving accuracy this season - Higgins has hit a remarkable 90 percent of th fairways in Germany, missing just four fairways in three rounds to top the accuracy rankings with ease.
When it comes to putting, he’s 155th on tour and while he’s holed his share this week, it’s a statistic that’s left him battling to retain his card at 192nd in the Race to Dubai.
Shane Lowry struggled again from tee to green, hitting just nine greens in a disappointing two over 74 that relegated him to tied 49th on four under.
Three over for his round with eight holes to play, Lowry birdied the 11th and then eagled the 319-yard 16th to get back to level for the day only to bogey the last two holes.
At the top of the leaderboard, Noren was the first to post the leading total when he signed for a third round 66 thanks to six birdies and an eagle two from 25 feet at the 16th.
“I came off the bogey on 15, and it was a perfect distance for the 3 wood and I hit it great,” said Noren of his eagle. “Marcel [Siem] hit it really close just before me, so I knew it was possible, but then I managed to hole the putt, which was great.”
Els is also on the same mark after a closing two putt birdie at the 18th hole put the seal on another impressive back nine from the South African, who for the second day running struggled during the first half of the round.
A birdie at the second was countered by dropped shots at the fifth and seventh holes to fall one over par on the day, but once again he picked up shots coming home to haul himself back into top spot.
“All in all I’ve got to be happy,” admitted Els. “I was a little out of sorts on the greens on the front nine. I didn’t quite get the pace of the greens as they are a little bit faster for some reason, and I kept hitting it past and then didn’t make the returns. But I made a little slight adjustment and played some proper stuff coming in.
“I think the weather really got the guys in the morning. We had perfect conditions in the afternoon, but as I say, if it wasn’t for those three 3 putts I had, I would have had a really good score.”
Els’ playing partner on Saturday, Alexander Levy, had for much of the day outshone the reigning Open Champion, and the 22 year old Frenchman was clearly enjoying his time in the presence of one of the game’s great talents.
Six birdies during the third round were countered by just a couple of bogeys, one of which came on the 15th hole, where he found the trees from the tee and then the thick rough; but Levy proved he is a cool customer with a strong up and down for a five on the par four, before closing with a birdie.
He said: “I played very well, so I’m very happy. It was great for me to play with a fantastic player, and I like to play with fantastic players, so I’m very happy.
“Today I kept my natural game and I had a very good time on the course, and I think it was a good day. I will try to do the same tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.”
Martin Kaymer is still very much in the hunt after a solid 69 under the gaze of the Munich faithful left him three adrift on 12 under par, the same score as his compatriot Marcel Siem, who would dearly love to win the title on home soil.
Other notables include Thomas Bjorn, who moved to tied fourth after signing for a superb round of 65 with caddie Billy Foster on his bag.
Scores after round 3:
201 E Els (RSA) 63 69 69, A Levy (Fra) 65 68 68, A Noren (Swe) 64 71 66,
202 M Baldwin (Eng) 64 69 69, T Björn (Den) 68 69 65,
203 P Uihlein (USA) 70 66 67,
204 B Stone (RSA) 66 71 67, D Willett (Eng) 69 65 70, J Luiten (Ned) 69 68 67, M Kaymer (Ger) 64 71 69, M Siem (Ger) 67 68 69,
205 S Garcia (Esp) 71 69 65, D Fichardt (RSA) 70 66 69, B Wiesberger (Aut) 66 68 71,
206 R Fisher (Eng) 68 69 69, P Waring (Eng) 66 73 67, M Nixon (Eng) 65 71 70, J Parry (Eng) 67 72 67, R Derksen (Ned) 64 72 70,
207 T Fleetwood (Eng) 66 69 72, T Van Der Walt (RSA) 70 68 69, M Jiménez (Esp) 68 67 72, B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 70 69,
208 J Morrison (Eng) 68 70 70, P Fowler (Aus) 67 71 70, P Lawrie (Irl) 67 69 72, H Stenson (Swe) 68 69 71, M Manassero (Ita) 68 69 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 73 67 68, D Higgins (Irl) 67 71 70, O Floren (Swe) 68 70 70, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 67 70 71,
209 H Wen-Yi (Chn) 71 69 69, D Van Der Walt (RSA) 70 71 68, T Jaidee (Tha) 66 74 69,
210 M Tullo (Chi) 68 69 73, A Hartø (Den) 68 73 69, A Kaleka (Fra) 72 68 70, G Stal (Fra) 68 68 74, F Aguilar (Chi) 70 69 71, O Fisher (Eng) 69 69 72, D Johnson (USA) 66 71 73, V Dubuisson (Fra) 68 69 73,
211 R McEvoy (Eng) 68 72 71, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 73 70, R Gonzalez (Arg) 72 69 70, M Kieffer (Ger) 68 73 70, C Macaulay (Sco) 69 68 74,
212 M Carlsson (Swe) 69 71 72, D Drysdale (Sco) 68 72 72, S Lowry (Irl) 69 69 74, M Wiegele (Aut) 69 69 74, S Kapur (Ind) 69 68 75, S Jamieson (Sco) 68 70 74, J Van Zyl (RSA) 75 65 72, B Rumford (Aus) 70 68 74,
213 P Widegren (Swe) 71 70 72, A Snobeck (Fra) 70 71 72, M Crespi (Ita) 69 72 72, C Doak (Sco) 72 69 72, S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 72 72, J Campillo (Esp) 66 70 77, P Casey (Eng) 71 70 72,
214 S Benson (Eng) 71 67 76, R Wattel (Fra) 67 72 75, J Lagergren (Swe) 66 73 75, J Walters (RSA) 67 73 74, M Lafeber (Ned) 70 71 73, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 69 74, M Madsen (Den) 74 65 75, D Horsey (Eng) 68 73 73, G Orr (Sco) 73 68 73, E Goya (Arg) 66 74 74, L Gagli (Ita) 69 71 74,
215 C Paisley (Eng) 69 72 74,
216 M Warren (Sco) 72 68 76,
217 R Rock (Eng) 73 68 76,
218 K Broberg (Swe) 70 71 77