Irish fade in the desert
Emiliano Grillo and Branden Grace. Picture © Getty Images
Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane and Michael Hoey all lost ground as tour winners Branden Grace, Marc Warren and Bernd Wiesberger joined Emiliano Grillo at the top of the leaderboard on day three of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
Grace, Warren and Wiesberger have between them captured ten European Tour titles, and the trio will fancy their chances of adding another victory to their CVs after moving to 13 under par at Doha Golf Club.
Grace and Wiesberger both signed for rounds of 68 and Warren went one better, but the only bogey-free round amongst the leading quartet came from Grillo, who matched the Scot’s 67 courtesy of five birdies.
But it was a slow day for the Irish trio with Lawrie making just one birdie in a one over 73 that relegated him from tied 10th to 32nd on five under par.
McGrane and Hoey are tied for 53rd on two under after rounds of 74 on day three but co-leader Grillo is determined to win his maiden tour title.
“The course was tougher today, but I played better.," Grillo said "I hit the ball better, so I have a good feeling for tomorrow and I want to try to get my first win.
“This is what I play for. This is what I have practiced for my entire life. Tomorrow, I have a great chance of taking my first trophy home.
“You have to learn first how to win out here, and I think I’ve learned a lot. I think I’m ready.”
Spain's Alejandro Cañizares, tied for fifth just two shots off the lead, has the chance to become the first man for 20 years to play four rounds on The European Tour without dropping a shot.
Jesper Parnevik was the last man to achieve the feat when he won the 1995 Scandinavian Masters.
Round 3 scores
203 B Wiesberger (Aut) 69 66 68, B Grace (RSA) 67 68 68, M Warren (Sco) 71 65 67, E Grillo (Arg) 67 69 67,
205 A Cañizares (Esp) 67 70 68, G Coetzee (RSA) 68 67 70, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 71 65,
207 O Fisher (Eng) 65 73 69,
208 J Carlsson (Swe) 74 65 69, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 68 70, R Paratore (Ita) 69 69 70, D Fichardt (RSA) 67 70 71, M Baldwin (Eng) 70 68 70, B An (Kor) 67 69 72,
209 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 70 69, A Sullivan (Eng) 71 68 70, P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 71 67, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 66 73 70, B Hebert (Fra) 72 68 69, E Els (RSA) 67 72 70, T Pieters (Bel) 73 68 68,
210 M Carlsson (Swe) 71 69 70, A Hansen (Den) 71 69 70, S Kapur (Ind) 70 68 72, A Noren (Swe) 67 71 72, N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 73 67, J Rose (Eng) 68 73 69, S Benson (Eng) 70 71 69, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 70 67, M Foster (Eng) 67 73 70, K Broberg (Swe) 67 71 72,
211 E Molinari (Ita) 71 70 70, F Aguilar (Chi) 71 68 72, P Lawrie (Irl) 70 68 73, E De La Riva (Esp) 70 69 72, D Van Der Walt (RSA) 72 69 70, J Quesne (Fra) 70 72 69, T Jaidee (Tha) 69 73 69,
212 A Quiros (Esp) 70 70 72, T Lewis (Eng) 72 71 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 68 73, T Fleetwood (Eng) 73 65 74, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 70 73, H Stenson (Swe) 70 71 71,
213 J Singh (Ind) 70 70 73, R Green (Aus) 70 67 76, E Espana (Fra) 70 73 70, S Jamieson (Sco) 68 73 72, R Fisher (Eng) 70 70 73, J Morrison (Eng) 68 70 75, P Uihlein (USA) 69 73 71, P Lawrie (Sco) 67 73 73,
214 D McGrane (Irl) 68 72 74, W Ormsby (Aus) 74 69 71, B Rumford (Aus) 69 72 73, M Hoey (Nir) 71 69 74, T Aiken (RSA) 69 73 72, A Johnston (Eng) 69 73 72, J Barnes (Eng) 72 70 72, G Havret (Fra) 70 69 75, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 68 71 75,
215 J Roos (RSA) 75 68 72, S Garcia (Esp) 69 69 77, J Campillo (Esp) 72 70 73, S Gallacher (Sco) 68 75 72,
216 M Tullo (Chi) 69 74 73, A Otaegui (Esp) 73 70 73, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 73 73, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 68 71 77,
217 M Nixon (Eng) 72 71 74,
218 R Finch (Eng) 71 72 75, P Waring (Eng) 70 72 76, M Lampert (Ger) 67 74 77,
220 M Korhonen (Fin) 73 70 77
