A battling performance from England’s Max Orrin means he will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Swedish Challenge hosted by Robert Karlsson after shooting a two-under par 70 on Day Three.
The 24 year old leads at Katrineholms Golfklubb on 12 under par, two shots ahead of countryman Tom Lewis who carded a four under par 68 to take sole second place ahead of the final round.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Orrin, who had a three-shot lead at the beginning of the day, as he needed to bounce back from two early bogeys before steadying the ship to finish on two under par for the day courtesy of an eagle at the penultimate hole.
And that eagle, the Englishman believes, was his reward for remaining patient on a testing day in Sweden.
“It was steady, very steady,” he said. “On Moving Day you expect the pack to make some birdies and chase you up so I just tried to stay patient and not get too high or too low with birdies and bogeys. If someone had said I’d shoot 70 with the wind, which was up, I probably would’ve taken it.
“I just did everything I did in the first two days. Even late in the round, on 15 for example, I’ve hit driver every day.
“Today, I knew I was two ahead at that point and I just hit driver again and tried to stay aggressive. It was a fairly decent finish; obviously bogeying the last isn’t ideal but getting an eagle on 17 was a bonus and probably a reward for my patience.
“It was difficult to get close to the flags early and that showed from the scoring. The greens were firming up and it was all about where you put your ball on the fairway and around the greens. It was a patient performance and I’m happy with it, really happy.”
Having previously won twice on the European Challenge Tour – at the 2015 Made in Denmark Challenge and the 2014 National Bank of Oman Golf Classic – Orrin will draw on past experience as he bids to secure another victory on Europe’s top developmental tour.
“Every week you go out trying to have good weeks and you don’t get that many positions like this," he said. "I’m playing with Tom Lewis tomorrow, he’s a good lad, so I’ll just go out, enjoy myself and see what happens.
“I’ll take a lot from past experiences. I’ve converted leads and I’ve come from behind so I’m confident I can do it both ways.
“If I play my best golf and shoot a low number then it will definitely be very difficult for someone to beat me and if they do then fair play. I’ve just got to focus on myself and keep doing what I’m doing.”
Orrin, part of the Great Britain and Ireland team at the 2013 Walker Cup, is in pole position heading into the final day in Sweden but a number of players on a congested leaderboard will feel like they have a chance of success tomorrow.
Road to Ras al Khaimah Number One Joachim B. Hansen leads a quartet of players in tied third on nine under par, three off the lead, after finishing with an eagle and a birdie in his final two holes to move right into contention. Hansen, who would secure automatic qualification to the European Tour with victory this week, is joined by Adri Arnaus, Victor Perez and Oliver Wilson on nine under.
A shot further back are KPMG Trophy winner Pedro Figueiredo, Mikael Lindberg and Tom Murray on eight under par, while a further six players are on seven under par.
