Paul Howard secured his position at the top of the leaderboard after round three of the Swiss Challenge presented by Association Suisse de Golf on the European Challenge Tour.
The Englishman held the clubhouse lead at the end of a rain-affected day two at Golf Sempachersee, but was caught by Spain’s Pep Angles and Belgium’s Hugues Joannes after they completed their second rounds this morning.
Teeing off together as the final group out in Lucerne, it was Howard who came out on top, carding a two under par 69 to reach nine under par overall.
And although he now shares the lead with Germany’s Alexander Knappe, the 25 year old is confident that he can finish well after enjoying leading from the front.
“I felt more comfortable at the top of the leaderboard then I thought I was going to be and I actually enjoyed coming up the last few holes,” said Howard who turned professional in 2014.
“I am very happy with how I played today, although it would have been nice if a birdie putt at the last went in. But if you had offered me two under at the start of the day I would have bitten your hand off.
“Even though I feel like I’ve had a tough side of the draw I felt that I was pretty lucky to get my round finished yesterday and did not have to come back today – because that would have been a really long day.
“When we started this morning the course was playing long. It wasn’t that warm and the wind picked up – and the balls were not running anywhere.
“If you didn’t hit the fairways you could hit some real shocking lies. I guess that’s why the scoring hasn’t jumped as forward as it normally does on the Challenge Tour.
“I didn’t approach anything differently. After missing the last five cuts I was pretty nervous during the first two days so it was no different today. But I hit the ball really well – just didn’t putt as well as I would have liked.
“I needed a performance this week to spring me forward and I will see this week as a good stepping stone. Hopefully I can take a win. If not I can learn from it and it will help me later in the season.”
One shot adrift of Howard and Knappe is Damien Perrier, who won his maiden Challenge Tour title in the Czech Republic last week.
“The best part of my game today was my focus until the end,” said the 26 year old who made two birdies in his last three holes to sign for a four under par 67 today.
“It is not an easy course, especially in this condition, but there are some birdie opportunities if you reach the fairway.
“My long game is okay at the moment, maybe not as good as it was in the Czech Republic last week, as I felt a lot more comfortable on that course. But I feel as though my game is very good at the moment and that gives me confidence for tomorrow.”
Alongside Perrier on eight under par is Ireland’s Ruaidhri McGee who shot a two under par 69 to sit one behind the leaders.
Switzerland’s Benjamin Rusch played himself into contention in his homeland with a three under par 68 to reach six under par overall, where is joined by seven others.
