Scotland’s David Law and Darius van Driel of the Netherlands co-lead the Euram Bank Open on 14 under par following impressive rounds of 62 on Moving Day at Golf Club Adamstal.
Starting the day in a tie for tenth place, van Driel went eagle-birdie-birdie on his third, fourth and fifth holes before adding another gain on the ninth to position his name amongst the tournament leaders.
Not to be outdone, Law, who was playing in the group behind the Dutchman, began his round with four-consecutive birdies, added another on the par three sixth hole and then parred his way to the turn — matching the Dutch golfer’s opening-nine 31.
On a wild Day Three that saw five different players card eight under par 62s, it was clear that Law and van Driel knew that they had to keep their foot on the accelerator.
“The pins were maybe a little bit easier, they were more to the inside of the green, plus there was almost no wind, so it really was suited for shooting a low round,” said van Driel.
On the back-nine, both golfers continued their torrid pace — carding inward-half 31s and signing for rounds of eight under par to take a two-stroke advantage into tomorrow’s final round.
Sharing third place on 12 under par are Road To Ras Al Khaimah leader Joachim B. Hansen — who is after his third win this season and an automatic promotion to the European Tour – and Sean Crocker, who made the cut at last week’s 147thOpen Championship.
Law, himself a winner on the European Challenge Tour this year, will bring recent experience at the top of the leaderboard into tomorrow. After failing to convert a 36-hole lead at the KPMG Trophy in Belgium, the Scot secured his maiden victory on home soil at the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels & Resorts.
“Belgium was really important for Scotland,” he said. “I finished 13thin Belgium so it was a week I was really disappointed with, but I used it to my advantage in Scotland and I learned from the poor weekend.
“I need to think about what I did in Scotland tomorrow. I feel like now that I’ve won out here, and now that I’m in this situation again, I’ll be comfortable. It’s given me a lot of belief, and fingers crossed I’ll be in a position tomorrow to win.
“I wasn’t hitting the ball today like I have been the last two months, but I know where my miss is, which is huge in golf.
“Without hitting the ball well, I’m playing good golf, which is really important.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Euram Bank Open co-leaders have both said that they will need to stay focused, and perhaps surprisingly, be ready for the physical demands of Golf Club Adamstal.
“On this golf course you need to be really patient,” said Law. “It’s not a course where you need to be aggressive off the tee, but it really is a course that is a tee shot golf course. You need to be pretty fit as well, it’s such a hard walk.”
“This course is so hilly it really gets you in the legs,” van Driel said. “Holland is flat, so we’re not used to it. I played the Alps Tour in 2015 so I’m a little bit familiar with these kinds of courses, but it still is one of the most demanding courses on your conditioning.”
The exciting conclusion to the Euram Bank Open will begin tomorrow at 7:00 am local time with the co-leaders teeing off at 11:20 am.
