Jesper Svensson shot 67 at Le Golf National and will enter Sunday’s finale of the FedEx Open de France in the pole position on 13 under, one clear of Sam Bairstow and Thorbjorn Olesen.
Entering the day with a share of the lead at -9, the 28-year-old Swede got off to a terrific start with four birdies on his first six holes to hit 13 under. But Svensson was shut out the rest of the way, shooting even par on his final 12 holes, and allowing chasers Olesen and Bairstow to pull within a shot on 12 under.
“I hit the ball really well all day, a lot of good looks, hit a lot of good putts – it was a good day,” said Svensson, who shared the lead after each of the first two days.
“A lot of putts slid past, hopefully they’ll drop tomorrow.”
Bairstow’s round was the opposite of Svensson. He carded just one birdie on the front nine but quickly made his move at the turn with back-to-back gains on 10 and 11. The Englishman then made a chip-in eagle on 14 chased by a birdie for a second straight 65.
“Just solid,” said Bairstow of his round. “Front nine was very smooth and I just holed a few putts on the back nine. Hopefully keep it going and hopefully another one.”
Olesen shot a bogey-free 67, highlighted by four birdies, the final one coming at No. 17. The Dane’s birdie-par finish was four strokes better than his untimely bogey-double bogey finish on Friday.
“Yeah, was a little bit annoyed with that finish obviously yesterday,” said Olesen. “It was nice today to come out on those last few holes and play them one under.
“I think my putting was pretty consistent all day. Holed some good putts down the front nine and then obviously that one on 17 was really important.”
A pair of Englishmen, Dan Bradbury (69) and Joe Dean (66), were a further shot back at 11 under.
With a 65, Gunner Wiebe carded the low round among a group of five tied at 10 under. The 35-year-old American finished with seven birdies against just one bogey.
2024 FedEx Open de France
Round Three: Top 10 Scorers
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 3)
1. Jesper Svensson -13 (-4)
2. Sam Bairstow -12 (-6)
2. Thorbjorn Olesen -12 (-4)
4. Joe Dean -11 (-5)
4. Dan Bradbury -11 (-2)
6. Gunner Wiebe -10 (-6)
6. Francesco Laporta -10 (-5)
6. Yannik Paul -10 (-4)
6. Matthew Jordan -10 (-3)
6. Simon Forsstrom -10 (-2)
European Tour Communications post-round content used to compile report.
