Round Three Report
Nacho Elvira holds the largest 54-hole lead on the 2021 Race to Dubai thus far and will take a six-stroke cushion into the final round of the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale.
The Spaniard, seeking a maiden European Tour victory on his 195th start, recovered from a bogey on his opening hole with six birdies to post a five under par round of 66 on The Twenty Ten Course at The Celtic Manor Resort, host of the Ryder Cup 11 years ago.
Four golfers form the chasing pack in a share of second place. Callum Shinkwin equalled the lowest score of the tournament, a flawless eight under par 63, to charge up the leaderboard. He’s joined on ten under par by Chase Hanna of the United States, South African Justin Harding and Finland’s Mikko Korhonen.
A stroke further back is Sam Horsfield, who won the Celtic Classic at this venue last year.
Player Quotes
Nacho Elvira: “I’m very happy. I didn’t think about the score until the last hole. I’m playing very consistent, very smart, that’s thanks to my caddie. We try to go at pins when we can, if not we go to the fat side, two putt and go to the next.
“I struggled a little bit with pace and putting, the pace was different. It rained a lot last night and my first putt on number one I was 12 feet short. It’s hard to control the wedges today. With mid and long irons it played easier, because you don’t have to count the release. There was a bit of balance.
“It’s a good feeling. But to be honest, I don’t care at the moment. I struggled a bit the last year, year and a half, not with form, but it’s golf, mentally, a little bit physically. Battling with an injury. I’m happy playing golf again and being in the moment.”
Callum Shinkwin: “I played within myself today and played how Callum Shinkwin plays golf. It was nice. I didn’t think about anything, I saw my name on the leaderboard and thought ‘that’s great’ but I just kept doing what I’m doing. I was hitting the ball well today. My iron play clicked today, which helps. At the end of the round I holed a couple of nice putts.”
Chase Hanna: “It was a solid day. A great finish, four under on the last five. I did a good job of being patient and knowing I could make some birdies coming in. I was fortunate to do that. The putter was a little shaky on the front nine, but then it was good after hole nine. I’m pleased about that. I probably need another hot putter tomorrow to give myself a chance.”
Justin Harding: “I played pretty good. I played solid. I didn’t really make too many mistakes. It’s a bit bittersweet at the minute, I feel like I gave myself a lot of chances on the back nine but didn’t seem to make any. I rolled the one in on 15 which was a bonus. It felt like I left a couple out there. It is what it is. I played good, put myself in position. Nacho is playing great. Who knows what happens tomorrow?”
Mikko Korhonen: “It was perfect, a little windy when I started but then it just dropped. Totally different golf course, like throwing darts with the irons. Playing a little longer but a nice day. I did throw them well. My irons were good and I holed a few putts and managed to keep it on the fairway.
“Sunday is always Sunday. We’ll see about the weather tomorrow, that’s always a factor. If it’s windy, a lot can happen.”
Scores after Round Three:
197 N ELVIRA (ESP) 64 67 66,
203 C SHINKWIN (ENG) 68 72 63, J HARDING (RSA) 68 69 66, C HANNA (USA) 67 69 67, M KORHONEN (FIN) 66 70 67,
204 S HORSFIELD (ENG) 67 72 65,
205 M WALLACE (ENG) 67 68 70, M KAWAMURA (JPN) 71 63 71,
206 J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 68 68 70,
207 W BESSELING (NED) 70 71 66, O FARR (WAL) 73 69 65, N H?JGAARD (DEN) 71 70 66, N COLSAERTS (BEL) 67 73 67, J WRISDALE (ENG) 67 73 67, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 71 69 67, B EASTON (RSA) 68 75 64, C HILL (SCO) 69 70 68,
208 R MCEVOY (ENG) 74 68 66, J MORRISON (ENG) 66 76 66, J GONNET (FRA) 67 75 66, R SANTOS (POR) 71 72 65, S KJELDSEN (DEN) 69 71 68, S KIM (USA) 69 70 69, D DRYSDALE (SCO) 68 71 69,
209 J CATLIN (USA) 68 73 68, H LEON (CHI) 72 69 68, W ORMSBY (AUS) 67 72 70,
210 C SYME (SCO) 72 70 68, O FISHER (ENG) 73 69 68, N KEARNEY (IRL) 71 72 67, V NORRMAN (SWE) 64 69 77,
211 A CHESTERS (ENG) 73 69 69, R MANSELL (ENG) 68 73 70, L CANTER (ENG) 76 68 67,
212 D LAWSON (AUS) 72 70 70, B POKE (DEN) 72 69 71, L SLATTERY (ENG) 70 71 71, M WARREN (SCO) 73 70 69, D LAW (SCO) 70 73 69, S BROWN (ENG) 69 74 69, B KENNEDY (AUS) 70 69 73, R RAMSAY (SCO) 70 73 69, R WATTEL (FRA) 71 68 73, C SORDET (FRA) 73 71 68, A FITZPATRICK (AM) (ENG) 70 74 68,
213 T PULKKANEN (FIN) 69 73 71, K BROBERG (SWE) 71 70 72, J SMITH (ENG) 69 72 72, M SCHMID (GER) 73 70 70, B DREDGE (WAL) 72 71 70, J GUERRIER (FRA) 72 71 70, B MACPHERSON (AUS) 67 76 70, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 69 74 70,
214 A DAVIES (AM) (WAL) 69 75 70, A LEVY (FRA) 72 72 70, D DIXON (ENG) 74 70 70,
215 B EVANS (ENG) 70 72 73, A RAI (ENG) 68 73 74, G FDEZ-CASTA?O (ESP) 73 70 72, T TREE (ENG) 70 71 74,
216 P FIGUEIREDO (POR) 73 69 74, C WOOD (ENG) 71 72 73, S HEND (AUS) 71 72 73,
217 R ROCK (ENG) 67 77 73, D HOWELL (ENG) 72 72 73,
218 S SHARMA (IND) 70 71 77,
222 S YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 74 70 78,
**
145 M SCHMITT (GER) 72 73, D HORSEY (ENG) 73 72, N LEMKE (SWE) 75 70, N VON DELLINGSHAUSEN (GER) 72 73, E SMYLIE (AUS) 74 71, D COUPLAND (ENG) 72 73, J SURI (USA) 76 69, R JACQUELIN (FRA) 68 77, B HENSON (USA) 71 74, J GEARY (NZL) 71 74, A OTAEGUI (ESP) 71 74,
146 M FORD (ENG) 76 70, N POPPLETON (ENG) 74 72, M PAVON (FRA) 74 72, M BALDWIN (ENG) 73 73, J DAVIDSON (WAL) 74 72,
147 K REITAN (NOR) 75 72, M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 74 73, A SADDIER (FRA) 71 76, L GAGLI (ITA) 70 77, G MOYNIHAN (IRL) 73 74, D YOUNG (SCO) 70 77, A ZEMMER (ITA) 72 75, R ENOCH (WAL) 77 70, R MCGOWAN (ENG) 71 76,
148 M JORDAN (ENG) 78 70, S TOWNDROW (ENG) 78 70, A QUIROS (ESP) 76 72, J SENIOR (ENG) 73 75, C KIM (USA) 73 75, J SUGRUE (IRL) 73 75, J MURPHY (IRL) 75 73, P PETERSON (USA) 72 76,
149 J KASKE (FIN) 76 73, B RITTHAMMER (GER) 72 77, C PIGEM (ESP) 78 71, Z LOMBARD (RSA) 72 77, T GANDY (IMN) 73 76, D VAN TONDER (RSA) 74 75, C SHARVIN (NIR) 75 74, A SANDHU (IND) 73 76, D WHITNELL (ENG) 72 77, L JOHNSTON (SCO) 75 74, R FISHER (ENG) 75 74,
150 N BERTASIO (ITA) 75 75, D PERRIER (FRA) 76 74, P DUNNE (IRL) 73 77, G BOURDY (FRA) 77 73, G BHULLAR (IND) 74 76, G STORM (ENG) 73 77, E WALKER (SCO) 79 71,
151 E BAE (USA) 78 73, H PORTEOUS (RSA) 73 78, L VAN MEIJEL (NED) 74 77,
152 T KOIVISTO (USA) 68 84, S HEISELE (GER) 72 80, M SCHNEIDER (GER) 78 74,
153 J WALTERS (RSA) 74 79,
154 G HAVRET (FRA) 81 73,
155 O WILSON (ENG) 79 76, A PAVAN (ITA) 78 77,
156 J LONG (ENG) 77 79,
158 J ASHFIELD (AM) (WAL) 75 83,
159 H LI (CHN) 84 75,
160 T DYKES (WAL) 83 77,
163 M ROBERTS (AM) (WAL) 82 81,
