Horsey reined in at Made in Denmark - Articles

David Horsey will take a one shot lead into the final round of the Made in Denmark as he aims for a wire-to-wire victory at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort.

The Englishman went top of the leaderboard on Thursday morning with a 28 that equalled the lowest nine holes on The European Tour this season and he has remained in the upper echelons ever since thanks to rounds of 63-67-68.

Horsey stretched his advantage to seven shots at one point on Saturday and looked like he was going to blow the field away, but three bogeys on the back nine and a brilliant 65 from Terry Pilkadaris pegged him back.

"I got off to a great start so I was obviously very pleased with that," he said. "There were a few tough holes in the middle that I didn't tackle that well, and obviously it was disappointing to bogey the last.

"It's tricky, though, as there's a cross-wind out there. All you have to do is miss a couple of shots and you're in real bother."

He added: "I didn't have a clue that I was seven clear. There aren't that many leaderboards out there, and anyway I was just trying to focus on myself.

"I knew the holes where I could take advantage, and I did that for the most part. There were just a few too many mistakes, but tomorrow if I can eliminate them I can be in a good position.

"You can't win a tournament on a Saturday so I was just trying to play my own game and get as far ahead as I could. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

"I was leading pretty much wire to wire in Russia last year and I was very comfortable with that, but I try not to think about it too much and just take my mind off the situation." David Horsey The seven shot advantage arrived after then closest challenger Richard Green found the water on the seventh to make a double bogey, but Pilkadaris made a birdie on the eighth and turned in 33 to reduce the gap.

Horsey recovered from back-to-back bogeys on the ninth and tenth with a birdie on the 11th but he dropped another shot on the 12th as Pilkadaris made a gain.

The Australian was playing in the group ahead of Horsey and both men recorded birdies on the 13th, but when Pilkadaris made it three in a row on the 14th, the lead was down to two.

Horsey dropped another on the last after a poor tee shot to end the day on 15 under and will be aiming for a fourth European Tour win on Sunday afternoon.

Pilkadaris is playing just his eighth European Tour event of the year with his best result this term coming on the Challenge Tour, a fourth placed finish at the Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC in June.

And while he admits it is a different experience for him this week, the 41 year old is confident he can win if he putts as he did on Saturday.

"I played most of the European Tour events in Asia so to come over onto mainland Europe and play is a little different, but I'm feeling good about the game and if the putts go in tomorrow we have a chance," he said.

"I drove the ball really well and managed to capitalise on my chances.

"I saw on the sixth that David was 17 under and I knew I had to get going a bit. But anything can happen in golf; things can change very quickly. I’ve pegged it back and I’ll keep going tomorrow."

Chris Paisley is also looking for a first European Tour win and he is four shots off the lead after registering seven birdies in a 66 which left him alongside John Parry. The 28 year old recorded nine pars in a row from the seventh but birdies on the 16th and 17th carried him to a 69.

Green's 70 was enough to carry him to ten under par while last year's runner-up Bradley Dredge is a further shot back after also going round in 70.

Søren Kjedsen and Mads Søgaard lead the home charge in the group at eight under and they were cheered on by 22,698 fans lining the fairways, an increase of 2,000 on last year as the Made in Denmark continues to go from strength to strength.

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