Michael Hoey will head into the final round of the Russian Open with a five shot lead over his rivals at the Tseleevo Golf Club.
Michael Hoey: Has a healthy lead at the Russian Open
Hoey carded a seven-under-par 65 during his third round on Saturday, which rocketed him to the top of the leaderboard. It is probably fair to say that this is now Hoey's championship to lose.
The Northern Irishman, who is on 14 under par for the championship, had the ideal start after he made birdie at the par-four first hole.
Hoey then encountered a dry spell between holes two and six. However, holes seven through to nine were particularly fruitful. Hoey made birdie at the seventh and ninth holes. However, the highlight of that spell was definitely the eagle, which he sunk at the par-five eighth.
It is perhaps worth noting that Hoey actually carded a double bogey on that hole during the first round. Hoey built on that momentum when he made the turn, as he sunk additional birdies at the tenth and twelfth holes.
The bogey at the eleventh was ultimately quite insignificant in the context of this astonishing round. The tournament leader didn't do any scoring between holes 13 and 17. However, he finished his round clinically with a birdie at the par-four 18th hole.
"It was one of those days where everything went my way for the most part. I played really well and was swinging the club well, but I got a few breaks here and there that really helped the score," said a delighted Hoey.
"I holed a 70 foot putt on the ninth for example - that was probably the biggest break I had out there. You just don't really expect to hole those ones so that was a bit of a bonus.
"I started with a great birdie on the first to really set the tone. I hit a great eight iron in there to about five feet and then I had that great run around the turn. I holed out from off the green on the seventh and then the eagle on eight was nice. I hit driver then three iron to eight feet there," added Hoey.
"It was just going my way as I said. I made the monster putt on nine and then stiffed it on ten for another birdie. The only blip of the day was on 11 but I did have a lot go my way too. I am making a lot of putts this week and that is always the difference at this level. It's all about putting," he said.
"Obviously I have a good lead but you just can't take it for granted. Things went my way today but it might be someone else's day tomorrow. I am just going to go out there and try to enjoy it. I have been in positions to win before and finished it off and that will help a bit, but you still need to hit the shots and hole the putts."
England's Matthew Nixon is in a tie for second, alongside Rikard Karlberg. While Karlberg had an ordinary, if not woeful round, Nixon certainly blossomed. The Englishman carded a four-under-par 68 for the third round.
Nixon wasn't particularly prolific during his round. Critically though, he never dropped a shot throughout. While Nixon faces an uphill battle on Sunday, he will be pleased with what he managed to achieve on Saturday. His two birdies on the front nine came at the par-fives.
Karlberg, who will feel that he has squandered his chances of winning in Russia, recorded a double bogey at the second hole. That probably set the tone for the remainder of his round. He added to that with a bogey at the fifth and again at the sixth.
While the Swede managed to claw his way back somewhat, the damage incurred on that horrendous front nine was just too severe to rectify. South African James Kingston, also carded a 68 during his round. However, he is six shots behind the leader ahead of Sunday's final round.
Kingston had some mixed fortunes during the start of his round. However, he finished the round off well with four birdies in the last five holes. Joining him on eight under par is Frenchman Alexandre Kaleka. The Frenchman started his round well with four birdies in the first seven holes.
However, he stumbled just before making the turn. Kaleka bogeyed the par-five eighth and made double bogey at the ninth. He encountered more trouble at the tenth but pulled two shots back at eleven and 13. He didn't do any scoring for the next four holes. Kaleka then bogeyed the 18th.
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