Schwartzel on top in Madrid

South African holds off red-hot Gonzalez to sit on top after round three

Last updated: 11th October 2008

Charl Schwartzel Madrid Masters third round

Schwartzel: One clear

Spain is like a second home, and I feel very good here. I'll feel a little bit of pressure tomorrow but I'll try to make a good score again and play well. I will just play golf and enjoy it - that's the only thing I can do

Ricardo Gonzalez
Quotes of the week

Third round leaderboard
Charl Schwartzel (SA) -14
Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) -13
Pablo Larrazabal (Spn) -11
Carlos Del Moral (Spn) -10
Andrew Tampion (Aus) -10
Paul Waring -10

Related links

News

Also see

Charl Schwartzel rolled in a birdie putt at the 18th to take a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Madrid Masters.

The South African, who was joint-leader overnight alongside Marcus Fraser, sunk a 10ft putt on the final hole to move clear on 14-under through three days.

His closest challenger is Ricardo Gonzalez after the Argentine fired a stunning nine-under-par round of 62 to shoot up the leaderboard.

Pablo Larrazabal matched Gonzalez's efforts and now leads the home charge for victory on 11-under. Fellow Spaniard Carlos Del Moral is a further shot adrift, alongside English duo Paul Waring and Andrew Tampion.

Injury problems

However it is Schwartzel who will head the field at the start of the fourth round, a fine effort considering he nearly pulled out of the event on Friday.

"I didn't feel very strong this morning but I felt I ground it out nicely today," he said. "I felt very weak and slept very badly last night but I felt better and better as the day progressed.

"Thankfully my shoulder is fine now after the physio treated it last night, but I still felt ill and got some medication from the doctor."

The 24-year-old, who carded rounds of 69 and 64 over the previous two days, managed an eagle and three birdies on the front nine but dropped shots at the ninth and 12th.

He also came close to bogeying the 17th but held his nerve with a tricky par putt before finishing with a flourish on the final hole.

That late birdie moved him clear of 2003 winner Gonzalez, who amazingly needed just 10 putts on his blistering back nine after reaching the turn one-under for the round.

Unbelievable

"I was one under after nine and thought to myself 'I need a few more birdies' - but to shoot nine under is unbelievable," he said.

"The key, I think, was my drive on 10. From there, I felt more confident. My putting was also very good on the last seven or eight holes.

"Spain is like a second home, and I feel very good here. I'll feel a little bit of pressure tomorrow but I'll try to make a good score again and play well. I will just play golf and enjoy it - that's the only thing I can do."

Miguel Angel Jimenez looks highly unlikely to claim the title which would take him to third in the European Tour Order of Merit after a one-over 72.

He is one shot ahead of his compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal, who managed a third-round score of 71 and sits 14 shots back of the current leader.

"It was the same scenario as the previous two days, wayward off the tee," said the two-time Masters champion. "But my back is holding out OK and that's the best news."