Scotland’s Connor Syme will take a slender lead into the final round of the Celtic Classic following a late collapse by former Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters.
Syme carded eight birdies in a flawless third round of 63 at Celtic Manor to finish 15 under par, a shot ahead of England’s Sam Horsfield, who won his maiden European Tour title a fortnight ago.
Cormac Sharvin is the best of the Irish going into the final day after a third round 65 which saw him come home in just 30 shots, leaving him at 10 under par, five shots behind Syme.
After making birdies at the second and sixth Sharvin dropped a shot at the Par 4 eighth but then went on a birdie blitz on the back nine with three in a row at the 11th, 12th and 13th and two more to finish at the 17th and 18th.
For Jonathan Caldwell it was a disappointing round of one over par 72 which included a double bogey at the 6th to leave him at seven under par with one round to play.
Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg is two shots off the lead on 13 under, with Pieters a further two strokes back in his first event for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic and the birth of his first child in July.
Pieters, who won a record four points on his Ryder Cup debut in 2016, held a three-shot lead after two eagles in the space of three holes around the turn, but ran up a triple-bogey on the 15th after topping his tee shot into heavy rough.
With the ball in an unplayable lie, Pieters was forced to go back to the tee on the short par four and pulled his third shot into a water hazard, eventually signing for a seven and then dropping another shot on the next.
Syme, who regained his European Tour card via the Challenge Tour last year, is seeking a first victory on the main circuit and has dropped just one shot — on the seventh hole on day one — so far this week.
“I played lovely to be honest,” the 25-year-old told Sky Sports. “It was obviously very nice conditions and I got off to a decent start.
“I hadn’t played the front nine quite as well as I’d liked so I managed to get three under through nine which was great, and holed the putts that I had opportunities on. It was a nice base to build on and just played really nice throughout.
“I played well in Austria the first event back and was a bit slow after that to start the UK swing, but finding a bit of form certainly with a made cut in the Hero Open and then gradually a little better last week. I’ve found something in my swing and just rolling with that really.
“I just really played in my own little zone, me and my caddie Lyle were just playing away and felt really comfortable.
“It’s a new experience for me. I’ve had a second place before (in the 2018 Shot Clock Masters) but this is the first time with a chance to win so I’m just going to take it as it comes. I’m excited, it’s a great opportunity and that’s all you can really hope for at the start of the week.”
Horsfield started his third round with eight straight pars, but was rewarded for his patience with birdies on the ninth, 14th and 16th in a bogey-free 68.
“I actually stayed really calm out there,” the 23-year-old said. “I felt like I was actually playing really well, I hit a lot of greens and I was just waiting for my putter to get hot.
“I made a few nice putts, didn’t take advantage of the easy holes on the back nine, but I’m happy with the position I’m in.
“The round I played today would have been very unusual for me in my first year I came out here. I just stuck with it today, stayed patient and when I first came out I was more aggressive and more fiery almost.
“I never got anxious or felt like I needed to get something going. I just sort of let everything happen and that’s one thing that Terry (Mundy, Horsfield’s manager) and I have been talking about a lot; just let things happen, don’t force them, don’t do stupid stuff.”
Collated third round scores & total in the European Tour Celtic Classic, The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport (British unless stated, par 71):
198 Connor Syme 68 67 63
199 Sam Horsfield 67 64 68
200 Sebastian Soderberg (Swe) 66 69 65
201 Andrew Johnston 67 66 68, Adrian Meronk (Pol) 66 71 64, Thomas Detry (Bel) 67 66 68
202 Callum Shinkwin 68 65 69, Thomas Pieters (Bel) 64 68 70
203 Wil Besseling (Ned) 67 69 67, Cormac Sharvin (NIrl) 71 67 65, Jason Scrivener (Aus) 69 69 65, Marc Warren 66 72 65, Jake McLeod (Aus) 65 69 69
204 Sihwan Kim (Kor) 66 70 68, Rhys Enoch 69 66 69, David Horsey 68 71 65, Sami Valimaki (Fin) 71 68 65, Matthew Southgate 67 70 67, Scott Vincent (Zim) 69 69 66
205 Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 69 70 66, Jack Senior 69 70 66, John Catlin (USA) 68 68 69, Adrian Otaegui (Spa) 69 67 69, James Morrison 67 70 68
206 Adri Arnaus (Spa) 73 68 65, Jonathan Caldwell (NIrl) 68 66 72, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 67 70 69, Aaron Cockerill (Can) 70 69 67
207 Steven Brown 67 72 68, Alexander Bjork (Swe) 71 70 66, Aaron Rai 67 70 70, Andy Sullivan 70 71 66, Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 68 70 69, Jordan Smith 68 68 71, Nacho Elvira (Spa) 66 69 72, Sean Crocker (USA) 68 66 73
208 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 70 68, Justin Harding (Rsa) 69 71 68, Matthew Jordan 68 66 74, Ross Fisher 72 68 68, Sebastian Heisele (Ger) 69 70 69, Francesco Laporta (Ita) 69 69 70, Jacques Kruyswijk (Rsa) 70 71 67, Scott Hend (Aus) 75 65 68, Dale Whitnell 72 67 69, Calum Hill 70 68 70, Louis De Jager (Rsa) 71 68 69, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 66 72 70, Ryan Fox (Nzl) 69 71 68, Guido Migliozzi (Ita) 66 70 72, Oscar Lengden (Swe) 69 69 70, Justin Walters (Rsa) 70 69 69, Wilco Nienaber (Rsa) 70 67 71
209 Maverick Antcliff (Aus) 68 71 70, Toby Tree 65 75 69, Ashley Chesters 72 68 69, Gavin Green (Mal) 70 69 70, Martin Simonsen (Den) 68 71 70, Oliver Farr 73 67 69
210 Dean Burmester (Rsa) 71 68 71, Damien Perrier (Fra) 70 69 71, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) 71 70 69, Jamie Donaldson 70 70 70, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 67 73 70, Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 73 68 69
211 Shubhankar Sharma (Ind) 71 70 70, Ross McGowan 70 70 71, Min Woo Lee (Aus) 69 71 71, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 70 71 70
212 Grant Forrest 72 68 72
213 Ben Stow 68 72 73, Julian Suri (USA) 72 69 72
214 Nino Bertasio (Ita) 71 69 74
215 Carlos Pigem (Spa) 70 71 74
217 Bernd Ritthammer (Ger) 71 70 76
