Date: June 23, 2013
Author: Omnisport

Els among three leaders at BMW International

Alexander Levy and Alex Noren produced fine front nines to pull alongside Ernie Els at 15-under par at the BMW International on Saturday. Levy&aposs four birdies before the turn at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried was spoilt only by a bogey at the par-four fifth, and had the Frenchman not bogeyed the 15th he would have held the outright lead with his birdies at 14 and 18. Swede Noren had an even better day as he carded five birdies and one eagle, only to fail to take an outright lead with a bogey at the tricky 15th to remain level at the top. Els carded two bogeys on his front nine, at the fifth and the seventh, which saw him relinquish the lead momentarily. However, three birdies in the final five holes saw him record a 69 and return to top of the leaderboard for the third successive day of the tournament. England&aposs Matthew Baldwin and Denmark&aposs Thomas Bjorn sit one shot off the lead going in the final round after strong days on the Bavarian course. Baldwin has been in the chasing pack behind Els since day one and another solid performance saw him score 69 with five birdies and two bogeys. Bjorn holed nine birdies during the day to move 14 places up the leaderboard, with two bogeys on the back nine the only blemishes on an otherwise excellent performance, and he feels confident going into the final round “I played really well and I needed that round to give myself a chance,” the Dane told the official European Tour website. “I knew that when I set out today that it was important to find a round in the mid-60s to give myself a chance for tomorrow. “I&aposve always played this golf course well. It suits my eye well and I would generally say I&aposve got a pretty good wedge game and that comes in handy on this golf course.” American Peter Uihlein is a further shot back with a group of five players on 12-under par, including local favourite Martin Kaymer and regining champion Danny Willett. After a 71 in Thursday&aposs opening round and 69 24 hours later, Spain&aposs Sergio Garcia continued to improve with a seven-under par 65 on Saturday that saw him record seven birdies and not drop a single shot.