GOLF:RORY McILROY dipped back under par after a blistering finish to his third round of the Egyptian Open, but he still looks too far off the lead to have any chance of winning.
The world number nine made four birdies in his final six holes in a round of 69 to get to two-under-par 214 heading into the final round.
He is joined on that mark by Colm Moriarty, who carded a level par 72.
They are 10 shots off the pace set by Scotland’s George Murray.
Despite struggling with swing changes, McIlroy eventually saw light at the end of the tunnel at the JW Marriott Mirage City Golf Club outside Cairo.
“I started hitting a few good shots on the driving range, which is always nice to see, and managed to take it out on to the golf course,” said McIlroy.
“It feels a lot better. Today I focused more on the target, had a pre-shot rehearsal of what I was trying to do, then I tried the swing, and it seemed to work pretty well.”
Murray’s birdie, birdie, eagle finish – after 15 straight pars – was just as impressive as McIlroy’s as he signed for a four-under 68 to lead on 12-under 204.
The top 45 players on the Challenge Tour standings will tee it up in the Grand Final in Italy next week. Moriarty (46th in the standings) is one player hoping he can make it to Italy then force his way into the top 20 who will earn their main European Tour cards.
CASTELLO MASTERS: Sweden's Peter Hedblom shot a 64 to get to nine under par to go one shot clear at the top of Castello Masters leaderboard at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo, Valencia.
Scot Paul Lawrie, chasing a first victory since 2002, and Spain’s Ricardo Gonzalez were joint leaders after 18 holes having matched Hedblom’s seven-under round yesterday, but neither could break 70 this time.
Also on eight under are Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Italian teenager Matteo Manassero.
Best of the Irish is Peter Lawrie, who added a superb 64 to an opening 70 to lie three shots off the lead.
SICILIAN SENIORS OPEN: A superb putting display helped unheralded Canadian Graham Gunn grab a two-shot lead on the opening day of the inaugural Sicilian Senior Open on the European Senior Tour.
On only his fifth appearance of the season, Gunn outshone some of the Senior Tour’s leading lights – including home hero Costantino Rocca and all-time leading career money winner Carl Mason of England – with a four-under 68 to lead from Argentina’s Horacio Carbonetti and Spaniard Domingo Hospital.
Jimmy Heggarty finished three shots off the pace after a 71, while Denis O’Sullivan shot a 76.
Incredibly, Gunn needed just 24 putts at Il Picciolo Golf Club where driving rain rendered low scoring doubly difficult.
LADIES CHINA OPEN: Rebecca Coakley was the best of the Irish trio with a level par 72 at the inaugural Sanya Ladies Open in China and trails Stefanie Michl of Austria, who shot a career-best 65 to lead.
Martina Gillen is seven over after a 79, only one shot better than Tara Delaney.
EUROPEAN TOUR Castello Masters at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo, Valencia, Spain
Second round (British unless stated, Irish in bold, par 71): 133 – Peter Hedblom (Swe) 69 64 134 – Paul Lawrie 64 70, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 68 66, Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano (Spa) 68 66 135 – Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 64 71, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 71 64, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 68 67, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 67 68 136 – Gary Boyd 68 68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 68 68, Richard Finch 66 70, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 70 66, Peter Lawrie 72 64 137 – Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 66 71, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 71 66, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 70, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 67 70, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 71 66, Anders Hansen (Den) 69 68, David Horsey 65 72, Phillip Price 69 68, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 70 67, Carl Suneson (Spa) 68 69, Tano Goya (Arg) 71 66, Michael Hoey 67 70 138 – Steve Webster 69 69, Gary Orr 66 72, Richard McEvoy 71 67, Julien Quesne (Fra) 69 69, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 70 68 139 – Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 69, David Drysdale 67 72, Oliver Wilson 69 70, Shane Lowry 69 70, Scott Strange (Aus) 73 66, Richard Green (Aus) 69 70, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 70 69 140 – Sam Hutsby 71 69, Joost Luiten (Ned) 68 72, Mark Foster 72 68, Paul McGinley 74 66, Simon Khan 66 74 141 – Christian Cevaer (Fra) 69 72, John Parry 70 71, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 72 69, Richie Ramsay 71 70, Damien McGrane 76 65, Gareth Maybin 68 73, Paul Waring 69 72, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 70, Mark Brown (Nzl) 70 71, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 73 68, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 72 69, Jamie Donaldson 70 71, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 71 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 70 142 – Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 74 68, Richard Bland 67 75, Alastair Forsyth 69 73, Javi Colomo (Spa) 69 73, Bradley Dredge 72 70 143 – Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 69 74, James Kingston (Rsa) 72 71, Andrew Coltart 70 73, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 73 70, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73, Todd Hamilton (US) 69 74, Steven O’Hara 72 71, Jamie Elson 72 71, Marco Ruiz (Par) 69 74, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 72 71, Markus Brier (Aut) 72 71, Ross McGowan 73 70.
Missed cut: 144 – A Butterfield 73 71, S Garcia (Spa) 71 73, D Howell 72 72, R Davies 73 71, J Morrison 69 75, R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 73, P Larrazabal (Spa) 71 73, F Aguilar (Chi) 75 69, G Lockerbie 70 74, D Vancsik (Arg) 72 72, A Kang (US) 76 68, P Martin (Spa) 80 64 145 – P Sjoland (Swe) 74 71, R Coles 72 73, F Delamontagne (Fra) 73 72, G Storm 71 74, A Wall 73 72, R Quiros (Spa) 74 71, D Dixon 75 70, M Jonzon (Swe) 70 75, F Zanotti (Par) 73 72, Simon Thornton 75 70, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 76 146 – M Cobo (Spa) 74 72, P Whiteford 71 75, G Coetzee (Rsa) 72 74, S Dodd 71 75, S Gallacher 72 74, M Warren 71 75, S Little 72 74, J Randhawa (Ind) 69 77 147 – M Erlandsson (Swe) 75 72, T Jaidee (Tha) 74 73 148 – S Hansen (Den) 72 76 149 – M Campbell (Nzl) 76 73, E Canonica (Ita) 76 73, SSP Chowrasia (Ind) 74 75 150 – S Kapur (Ind) 78 72 152 – J Campillo (Spa) 75 77.
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR Egyptian Open At Mirage City Golf, Cairo
Leading third round scores (Irish in bold, par 72): 204 - G Murray (Sco) 67 69 68. 205 - A Tadini (Ita) 65 71 69, F De Vries (Ned) 67 73 65. 207 - L Slattery (Eng) 69 66 72. 209 - M Tullo (Chi) 71 68 70, S Tiley (Eng) 69 72 68. 210 - S Jamieson (Sco) 69 69 72. 211 - M Lorenzo- Vera (Fra) 69 69 73, L Gagli (Ita) 71 71 69, P Golding (Eng) 72 70 69, D Gaunt (Aus) 71 70 70. 212 - T Fleetwood (Eng) 72 72 68. 213 - L Kennedy (Eng) 70 72 71, S Walker (Eng) 68 74 71, G Houston (Wal) 71 71 71, J Sjoholm (Swe) 71 67 75, R Kakko (Fin) 68 72 73, J Van Zyl (Rsa) 70 71 72, J Senior (Eng) 72 69 72. 214 - C Moriarty 72 70 72, R McIlroy 71 74 69, A Ahokas (Fin) 70 73 71, J Grillon (Fra) 71 73 70. 215 - V Riu (Fra) 70 71 74, A Hansen (Den) 70 74 71, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 74 69 72, P Del Grosso (Arg) 71 71 73, B Wiesberger (Aut) 72 70 73, O Whiteley (Eng) 70 75 70, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 70 70 75, A Marshall (Eng) 73 72 70.
EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR Sicilian Senior Open at Il Picciolo Golf Club, Castiglione di Sicilia
Leading first round scores (par 72) 68 – G Gunn (Can) 70 – D Hospital (Spa), H Carbonetti (Arg) 71 – M Gray (Sco), A Oldcorn (Sco), J Quiros (Spa), J Heggarty (N Ire), A Fernandez (Chi), R Chapman (Eng) 72 – K Tomori (Jpn), J Harrison (Eng), G Ryall (Eng) 73 – G Brand (Eng), C Mason (Eng), P Dugeny (Fra), A Murray (Eng), P Fowler (Aus).
Other: 76 – D O’Sullivan (Ire).
