Sicily, Italy – Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen fired a spectacular five-under 67 Saturday in windy conditions to grab the third-round lead of the Sicilian Open.
Olesen finished 54 holes at 12-under 204 and is three strokes clear at Verdura Golf & Spa Resort.
With gusts blowing up to 25 mph, and most players bundled in winter hats and sweaters, Olesen used an eagle at 14 and a long birdie putt at the last to earn first.
He will be in search of his first European Tour victory. Olesen posted three runner-up finishes in his rookie year last year and has two top 10s so far in the 2012 campaign.
Andrew Parr carded a five-under 67 and is tied for second place with Nicolas Colsaerts, who had a three-under 69 on Saturday. The pair came in at nine- under 207.
There were six second-round leaders and none fared very well in the wind Saturday.
Peter Lawrie, who also held the first-round lead, managed an even-par 72 and is part of a group tied for fourth place. Lloyd Saltman (69) and Soren Kjeldsen (71) matched Lawrie at minus-eight.
Simon Wakefield posted the next-best score of the overnight leaders with a two-over 74. He fell into a tie for 10th at six-under par.
The other four men atop the leaderboard at the start of Saturday's round were even worse than Lawrie and Wakefield.
Pelle Edberg shot a three-over 75 to dip into a share of 16th at minus-five, while Maarten Lafeber was two worse with a 76.
The final two leaders, who played together in the last pairing, struggled badly.
David Lynn carded a seven-over 79 and is tied for 40th at one-under par, while Jamie Donaldson had nine bogeys and a birdie for an 80 and a share of 53rd at even-par.
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