Irish title holder Graeme McDowell collected two birdies in the last five holes over the Murhof course in Austria yesterday to keep alive his hopes of finishing among the medals in the European Amateur Golf Championship.
The 21-year-old US university student, who belongs to the Rathmore club, had stumbled a little during his third round, but those birdies helped him to a two-under-par 70 and a 54-hole total of 201.
He is in joint third position with Welshman Jamie Donaldson, the half-way leader, some four strokes adrift of Carl Pettersson from Sweden who burst clear of the pack with a brilliant six-under-par 66.
Scrabo's Andrew McCormick, who started the tournament with a 67 but then struggled in his second round with a 75, found form again yesterday as he posted a fine 66 with halves of 34 and 32 for a 54-hole aggregate of 208.
Limerick's Tim Rice produced another steady performance to return a 71 for a 54-hole total of 215. But Noel Fox, Eammon Brady and Belgium-based Irishman Eoin Feely missed the cut.
