Filip Mruzek and Julian Perico both finished on 14 under par to share a two-stroke lead with 18 holes to go at the Interwetten Open.
Czech Mruzek shot a bogey-free, six under par 63 in the third round, one better than Peruvian Perico’s 64, as the pair pulled clear of the chasing pack at Schladming-Dachstein Golf Club in Austria.
Both will be looking for their maiden HotelPlanner Tour title tomorrow, but Mruzek, 66th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, says he is just enjoying competing with full playing status.
“It’s nice to be here with a full category after seven years of playing invites,” he said. “I’m enjoying every day, every moment playing with the guys. I just like to be here.
“Today was perfect. The last three weeks, I’m playing really good golf, really relaxed, I call it freedom golf. I just like to be in this position, I’m enjoying every shot, every round. It’s nice to be here with 18 holes to go.
“My aim is just to have a good day. I feel like I can play good, that’s the main goal. If I’m able to take the trophy home, perfect, if not it will be a learning day and we’ll keep going.”
Perico, 27th in the Rankings, said he was pleased he was able to temper his emotions on a day where he felt like he could have gone a lot lower.
“It did feel like I was going to go really low,” he said. “I hit the ball really well today, probably the best I’ve hit it in my life in a tournament round.
“The result is the result but I did an incredible process of bringing myself back and focussing on my routine and just being really present so I really enjoyed that.”
The 26-year-old made four birdies in his first five holes to get off to a flyer, but wasn’t able to distance himself from the field. Tomorrow, the Peruvian says he will try to enjoy the pressure of the situation.
“I’ve been fortunate enough that I’ve been in this position a couple of times now, and there’s nothing to worry about,” he added. “All you want to do is enjoy it.
“I talked with my friends about it that it’s the best feeling in the world when you feel like you can’t breathe and when you’re amped up. It’s what we do it for. It’s just an experience and you take it as it is and you keep going.
“Tomorrow is just going to be more information for me to keep going in the future and keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing the last few weeks.”
Two back of the leaders are South Africa’s Louis Albertse and England’s Bradley Bawden. At 11 under par are Italian Jacopo Vecchi Fossa, Serbian Tadeas Tetak, Fin Tapio Pulkkanen and English Ryan Brooks.
The final round of the Interwetten Open begins at 7.45am local time, with Mruzek and Perico playing alongside Albertse at 9.24am.
