Ewen Ferguson showed grit and determination to battle wet conditions and retain his lead on day three of the Soudal Open.
The Scotsman added an impressive two under par round of 69 to reach 13 under after 54 holes at Rinkven International Golf Club and take a two-stroke advantage into the final round, with Englishman John Parry in second on 11 under.
Heavy rain arrived in Antwerp prior to the leading groups getting their third round under way and scoring was therefore harder to come by than it had been during the opening two rounds, but Ferguson stuck to his task to ensure he claimed the 54-hole lead for the fifth time in his DP World Tour career.
On a day where par was increasingly a good score, the 28-year-old birdied the par four third but gave a shot back at the sixth to make the turn at level par.
He made back-to-back gains at the tenth and 11th but a second dropped shot of the week arrived at the par four 13th after missing his approach long. Not to be deterred, Ferguson dusted himself down and made a final birdie at the par four 16th, before ticking off two pars to finish and remain the man to catch with 18 holes to play.
England’s Parry, who won the Opening Swing after claiming his second DP World Tour victory at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, carded a four under 67 to earn his spot in Sunday’s final group, while Dutchman Darius van Driel is third on nine under on his return to action after recovering from a wrist injury.
Frenchman Frederic Lacroix, Finland’s Oliver Lindell and Englishman Jordan Smith took full advantage of their early morning tee times to post low rounds and surge into contention.
The trio sit in a tie for fourth on eight under par, with Lacroix and Lindell posting six under rounds of 65 before the bad weather arrived, and Smith tying the course record with a 64 to climb 48 places from the cutline.
Player quotes
Ewen Ferguson: I had to be really patient, to be honest with you. My range session was awful — it was so cold, my hands were freezing, and I was hardly finding the middle of the face. I was thinking, this could be a long day, which it was. But once you’re out there, you start to feel the vibe from the people around you. I was playing with Marco, who’s a good friend, and we just tried to enjoy it as much as we could, even with the bad weather. I just hung in there all day. It wasn’t pretty — teeing the ball down, squashing drivers, just trying to find fairways. Nothing flashy, but it’s Saturday. You just need to keep yourself in it. Like I said, you can lose it on a Saturday, but you can’t win it.
