Greg Owen will take a four shot lead into the final round of The Daily Telegraph Damovo British Masters after a pulsating third day’s action in the sunshine at the Marriott Forest of Arden. The 31 year old Englishman carded a fine 67 to move clear of Richard Green and Ian Poulter, the latter producing the round of the day with a blistering course record equalling 63.
Owen, looking for his maiden win on The European Tour International Schedule, will now partner Poulter in the last day’s final pairing, Poulter looking to become the first player since Vijay Singh in 2001 to win consecutive European Tour events, following his win in last week’s Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open.
Certainly if he reproduces the same form as he did in the third round, the 27 year old from Milton Keynes will be a hard man to bet against. Starting the day right on the cut mark of level par, Poulter stormed through the field with a superb nine under par 63 to tie the record set by Colin Montgomerie in 1997.
Indeed it could have been even better for the flamboyant Englishman, who sports red streaks in his hair in honour of his beloved Arsenal and who turned up at the Marriott Forest of Arden in his flame red Ferrari.
Having started with four birdies, Poulter added six more in the stretch from the seventh to the 17th, leaving him at ten under par and needing only a par three at the demanding 211 yard 18th hole for the record outright.
A five iron tee shot found the front portion of the long and undulating putting surface but, to the dismay of the huge crowds which had flocked to the greenside and the stands, he three putted from fully 80 feet for his only bogey of the day.
“I did think that a 60 was on the cards today,” he said. “You need a perfect start to shoot that kind of number and I got it over the first four holes, just steady putts from six and seven feet rolling into the hole.
“I had a chance for eagle on the 17th and just missed and then at the last I hit a five iron a little too hard and to the right then three putted. Obviously it was disappointing to end like that but if you had offered me a 63 at the start of the day, I’d have snapped your arm off to take it.
“Obviously the confidence from last week was lovely. My timing was a little bit off yesterday so it was nice to get my rhythm back like I had in Wales and put together a round like that.”
Although he produced the round of the day, Poulter still ended the day four shots in arrears of the man everyone will have to beat in the final round, Greg Owen, who gave himself the best opportunity to win his first European Tour title.
Ironically, Owen looked far from leader material when he dropped a shot at the second hole to fall out of the lead, a poor drive leading to a second shot which flew the green from where he failed to get up and down.
But the Englishman recovered in admirable fashion, putting the mistake firmly behind him with birdies at the fourth, seventh, tenth and 12th before making his telling thrust of the day at the 516 yard 17th. A perfect drive left him in the centre of the fairway and when his six iron finished ten feet from the pin, one putt gave him a crucial eagle three.
In April, Owen led at halfway in the Algarve Open de Portugal only to slip back over the weekend to eventually finish fifth and he admitted he wanted to put the disappointment he felt in the Algarve to good use in the final round in Warwickshire.
“I wasn’t in the lead in Portugal going into the final round, I was one behind and not in the last group and as I result you try to force it,” he said. “But hopefully I am a little bit older and a little bit wiser now and I’ll just try and forget what happened there.
“It’s a new challenge for me tomorrow and I’m going to enjoy it. I can’t determine what others do behind me and if I start looking at leaderboards too seriously you can start panicking when somebody gets close. I am sure somebody is going to attack me but it’s up to me. If I play my game, they are not going to reach me.”
Alongside Poulter on nine under par 207 as the nearest challenger to Owen is Australian left hander Richard Green, the winner of the Dubai Desert Classic in 1997 when he beat Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam in a play-off.
The 32 year old from Melbourne carded a 66 in the second round but erratic form on the greens meant he had to settle for a third round 71 which, like Poulter, featured a bogey four on the last after he overshot the green and failed to get up and down.
“My putting all day was not what it should have been, it was a bit all over the shop so in a way I’m quite pleased with the way I battled to a 71,” he said. “However, I’m still in with a chance and you never know what might happen tomorrow.”
One shot behind Green and Poulter, Englishmen Matthew Blackey and David Lynn finished on eight under par 208 after respective rounds of 70 and 71 while seven players finished their third rounds on seven under par 209.
