Two birdies in his final three holes saw Jens Fahrbring sneak into a one stroke lead with 18 holes to play at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.
The Swede leads by one from fellow countryman Johan Edfors and Frenchman Lionel Weber, who produced a fine six under par 65 to join Edfors in a share of second place on 11 under, with Jason Palmer, Nicolo Rovano and Gareth Shaw sharing fourth position a further shot back.
Stepping onto the 16thtee, Fahrbring had seen his two third round birdies on the seventh and tenth holes cancelled out by bogeys on 12 and 15 but he dug deep to finish with gains at the 16th and then the closing par four 18that Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil to post a 12 under total of 201.
“I felt pretty calm all day,” said Fahrbring. “I didn’t start great but it was tougher to make a score today as the pin positions were lot tougher. My only real bad swing of the say was on 12 where I made bogey but I finished well and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
Fahrbring will draw upon the positive experience of winning on the Challenge Tour last year as he looks to hold off the challenge of the vastly experienced Edfors and the hugely talented Weber.
“It is always tough to compare to last year but it is nice to know that I have won going into the final round with the lead,” said Fahrbring. “Obviously, I will take that with me tomorrow. But last year in Norway, I shot 62 in the third round and I was just in the clouds and playing really well so it is different this year. It's going to be a challenge tomorrow but it will be fun.”
While Edfors, a three time European Tour Champion and former Challenge Tour Number One, is the obvious threat to Fahrbring’s hopes of securing a second Challenge Tour career win, if the 23 year old Weber replicates his third round form he will pose a significant danger of his own.
No dropped shots and six birdies saw the Frenchman sail round the Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil in six under par on Saturday. Weber played the early part of the season on the Asian Tour and he believes the experience has helped him develop in to a better professional.
"The best part of my game is my irons. I am very precise. I am not the longest from the tee but in general, I do not miss a lot of fairways and that was a big part of my game today,” said Weber.
“Playing on Asian Tour has really helped me to improve my game. You have to strike the ball well ad play well to contend there and it has helped me develop. I also need to try and play with the same spirit that I played with as an amateur. When I was an amateur, I was a fighter and I really played to win. I lost this spirit when I turned professional because the pro circuit is so different but I know I can win if I can find this spirit again deep inside on me. I know it is somewhere.”
Like Weber, Edfors is a man searching for the spirit within. Having won the Challenge Tour in 2003, the Swede exploded on The 2006 European Tour, winning three times to establish himself among Europe’s finest. He remained a mainstay on Tour until the end of last year but has struggled since then to recapture his best.
“I really struggled the last couple of years on and off the course,” admitted Edfors, who posted a thiord round 68 in France. “I have been injured quite a bit lately so I had six months off and then I played with a few invites on Tour at the beginning of the year.
“But I didn’t feel good and wasn’t justifying the invites so I decided to come back to play the Challenge Tour. So I am fresh from a five week break and I have been able to practice for the last two weeks so game is getting in pretty good shape, really I think I can have a chance tomorrow.”
