South Africa's Fichardt leads Saint-Omer Open

SAINT-OMER, France – Darren Fichardt shot a 2-under 69 to take a five-stroke lead after the third round of the Saint-Omer Open on Saturday.

The South African had five straight birdies on the front nine before making three bogeys to finish with a 7-under 206.

Fichardt won the Brazil Open in 2001 and the Qatar Masters in 2003, but his last top-three finish was third at the Qatar Masters in 2006.

Simon Wakefield of England shot a 1-over 72 to climb into second place, two strokes ahead of compatriot Gary Lockerbie, Mark Tullo of Chile and Wi Besseling of the Netherlands, who shared third place at 213.