CORK, Ireland – Mikko Ilonen of Finland birdied the last hole to stay on top of the Irish Open leaderboard after three rounds on Saturday.
Ilonen, who has led from the outset, carded a 2-under-par 69 to move to a 12-under total at Fota Island.
The leader by two shots overnight, Ilonen will take a one-shot lead into the final round over Danny Willett of England, who eclipsed Ilonen's own course record by a shot with an 8-under 63 that also included a hole-in-one at the seventh.
One shot further back on 10 under was overwhelming crowd favorite Graeme McDowell, who birdied two of his closing three holes in a score of 69. He's not only targeting a first victory this year but also a maiden Irish Open victory.
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