Alexander Noren re-writes history in the third round of Nordea Masters on European Tour
It might just be the end of the third round at the Nordea Masters in Sweden, but for several strong reasons, it is probably safe enough to declare Alexander Noren, an early winner.
Noren played like a 50-foot giant on one of the longest turfs on the European Tour, the Bro Hof Slott, pulling in a massive nine-under, 63 to grab a record-breaking lead of 11-under. The scale of lead is unprecedented on the tour with only Retief Goosen,
in 2002, better than Noren with a 13-shot lead in the Johnnie Walker Classic.
The 29-year-old Noren’s scorecard is littered with no fewer than two dozen birdies in his stunning performance in the past three days. He pulled in seven birdies on his perfect third round and topped them with a glistering eagle at par-five, 9th,
to conclude what can easily be called as a dream round of any golfer. He is now at a mammoth 20-under for the moment and is likely to go all the way to the top on the final day.
“Unreal, obviously,” said Noren. “It was an amazing feeling. I never thought it would be possible to shoot these scores. Every shot went the way I wanted - I don’t know what to say - I’m just so happy to play like this. It’s hard to sink in. I’ve never dreamt
of playing like this here, I just thought if I make the cut I will be happy this week. 20 under is better than I can imagine.”
Noren’s lead was threatened at one point when long-hitting American Bubba Watson pulled in three consecutive birdies on his opening holes to reduce Noren’s lead. Watson, who took advantage of his long drives on the lengthy course, carded two more birdies
before making the turn.
Watson could have stayed in contention for the summit had he not stumbled on two bogeys and a dreadful double-bogey on his way to the final holes on the back nine. The American settled for a nine-under on the aggregate and will need probably his career best
knock on the final day to dismantle Noren from the top.
Jaco Van Zyl of South Africa and another Swede Christian Nilsson closed with a joint third, pulling in third round scores of 70 and 66 respectively.
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