Sweden’s Alex Noren will take a two shot lead into the final round of the Nordea Masters after he defied strong winds to fire a best-of-the-day 67 on Saturday.
The 32 year old moved to 11 under par, edging ahead of Maximilian Kieffer, who birdied the last for a 70 and a nine under par total.
Overnight co-leader Jens Dantorp and another Swede, Sebastian Soderberg, are one shot further back, while 18 year old amateur Marcus Kinhult’s five over par 77 saw him fall from the top of the leaderboard to tied 14th on four under.
After a two-hour suspension for a morning thunderstorm at PGA Sweden National, Søren Kjeldsen posted a 68 to set a testing clubhouse target of seven under par, but it did not take Noren long to catch him.
The three time European Tour winner carded four birdies in his opening five holes before a bogey at the ninth, but he recovered with consecutive birdies at the next two holes and finished with five pars and a bogey before extending his lead with a gain at the last.
Noren said: “It’s very nice and I’m very happy to play the way I did today, especially my putting. My whole game, in fact, was pretty good. It was a great start. I hit some good shots on one and two and holed a couple of good putts on four and five.
“The year has been fantastic – I’ve had a few good finishes and steadier play. I’m working hard on hitting the right shots at the right times, and on days like today you get a good test of it.”
Malmö native Dantorp shot a one over par 73 to fall three shots off the lead.
“It was a tough day,” Dantorp said. “The wind was blowing hard and it was tricky because it’s warmer and you couldn’t really feel the wind at the beginning. After a while you learned that it’s blowing even harder than the other days. It’s really gusty as well, so anything can happen.
“I’m proud of how I’ve played, but it’s tricky. I’ve improved a lot since this time last year – not so much with the golf swing or anything technical, but mentally.
“I feel a lot more comfortable being in this position. I’m enjoying being on the leaderboard, whereas a year ago I was a bit stressed about it.”
World Number Four Henrik Stenson eagled the first en route to a 68 and a six under par total. The 39 year old, who has never won his national Open, is one of six Swedish players in the top eight.
