New Zealand&aposs Steve Alker is in a three-way tie for the lead after three rounds of the KLM Open in Zandvoort. Alker fired a one-under-par round of 69 to finish at nine-under, tied with English duo Ross Fisher and David Carter. Welshman Phillip Price, Ireland&aposs David Higgins, France&aposs Thomas Levet and Holland&aposs Joost Luiten share fourth place two shots off the lead, while former Open champion Paul Lawrie and fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher are another stroke back. Michael Campbell is among 10 players just four strokes from the lead at five-under, while David Bransdon is the leading Australian, tied for 28th at three-under-par. Fisher will hope to banish the memories of his last-day collapse in the BMW Championship in the final round. The 26-year-old from Surrey also led going into the last round at his home course Wentworth in the European Tour&aposs flagship event in May, only to crash to a closing 84 and slump to a share of 39th place. “Wentworth was fantastic for three days and then disastrous for one but that&aposs golf,” Fisher said. “I&aposd be lying if I said I wasn&apost nervous because it&aposs my home club and I&aposve watched countless tournaments there at the BMW Championship or World Matchplay. “To be leading the event was pretty overwhelming and it obviously put some extra pressure on me. It was one of those days where everything I tried didn&apost come off but I had to suck it up because I had a lot of friends and family watching. “I know I&aposm ready to win and I will win, whether that&aposs this week, next week or somewhere down the line. I know I&aposve got the game to do it. For three days here I&aposve played some pretty good golf, the first two days were close to flawless.” Instead of that Wentworth wash-out, Fisher will look to draw on a happier experience when in contention for the Dubai Desert Classic earlier in the year. Consecutive rounds of 65 gave him the halfway lead and he played alongside Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson in round three and then Tiger Woods and Niclas Fasth in the final round. “That was an amazing experience and a great thrill,” added Fisher, who shot 71 on both days to eventually finish fifth. “A lot of players wait their whole career and this is only my second year on tour and I&aposve played with the best player in the world. I take a lot from that and the fact Tiger said some nice things about my game afterwards.” Carter held a two-shot lead overnight but three-putted three times in his 71 and bogeyed the last to lose the outright lead. Brett Rumford is the next best placed Australian, tied for 36th at two-under, while Matthew Millar and Wade Ormsby are well out of contention, in equal 61st and 71st positions respectively. Third Round of the KLM Open, Netherlands, (Par 70): -9 Steve Alker (New Zealand) 66 66 69, David Carter 65 65 71, Ross Fisher 66 67 68 -7 David Higgins 68 67 68, Thomas Levet 65 70 68, Joost Luiten 68 64 71, Phillip Price 68 68 67 -6 John Bickerton 68 67 69, Stephen Gallacher 70 68 66, Paul Lawrie 66 69 69, Alexander Noren 65 67 72 -5 Markus Brier 67 68 70, Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 65 71 69, Alejandro Canizares 69 67 69, Nick Dougherty 69 67 69, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet 64 71 70, James Hepworth 70 69 66, Simon Khan 67 69 69, Bernhard Langer 67 71 67, David Lynn 65 70 70, Henrik Nystrom 66 67 72 also: -3 David Bransdon (Australia) 68 69 70 -2 Brett Rumford (Australia) 69 70 69 +1 Matthew Millar (Australia) 68 71 72 +4 Wade Ormsby (Australia) 69 70 75
Author: