Shaun Norris is in the box seat to claim his third DP World Tour title after equalling the course record to reach nine under par on Saturday at the Nexo Championship.
Related: Southgate soars to one-shot lead in Scotland
The South African, who began his third round one shot back from playing partner Matthew Southgate, delivered a stellar round of 66 at Trump International Golf Links to match the low tally and take the lead on moving day in Aberdeenshire.
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Norris, picking up where he left off after 36 holes, opened his account with a birdie before going even better at the par five fourth, holing out on his second shot for an albatross – the fifth of his career.
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He made further gains at the seventh and 14th before a dropped shot at the par four 15th tightened the leaderboard back up, England’s Matthew Jordan amongst those chasing.
The 44-year-old, whose last win came at the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Championship, regrouped for a birdie-par finish to move two strokes clear ahead of the final round in Scotland.
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Jordan, playing two groups ahead, shook off an opening bogey to pick up five shots across his third round; a pair of birdies to finish saw him post a 68 and get to seven under par for the week.
The 30-year-old will be in search of his maiden DP World Tour title on Sunday, having finished runner-up in last week’s Danish Golf Championship.
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Scott Jamieson sits a further shot back following a third round of 69. The home favourite managed four birdies and just one bogey to stay within reach, as he now prepares to chase down his second win, and first since 2012, on golf’s Global Tour.
Southgate and Japan’s Keita Nakajima are in a share of fourth place two strokes behind, with Australia’s Connor McKinney, England’s Andy Sullivan and Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith the next best at three under par.
Player quotes:
Shaun Norris: Oh, I did know that (birdie chance for the course record), now I’m more annoyed (laughs). I’m very pleased with the way I played. I hit the ball nicely today. I gave myself some good chances. I was fortunate with an albatross on the fourth. So, yeah, pretty pleased with it.
It’s just one of those holes. You just got to place yourself in the fairway and give yourself a chance to go for the green. I sort of borderline hit three wood there. My brother gave me a number. He said: ‘just trust it and go for it’, and I could not have hit it any better. And once it pitched on the green, he’s, like, ‘go in’. I was like, ‘nah, whatever’. Next minute, it goes in. I was so happy.
It’s not just over the last couple of days – it’s over the last ten or 12 years. We’ve got a good bond (with brother). He knows my game better than anybody else, so I think we’re in a good position, you know, to go out there tomorrow, have fun, try and give some chances for birdies, and see what happens.
