Tight race in Melbourne: Neergard-Petersen leads at the Crown Australian Open. Bernd Wiesberger is tied with Rory McIlroy.
The third round of the Crown Australian Open on the DP World Tour concluded with Denmark’s Rasmus Neergard-Petersen maintaining his lead. Following up his 66 from the previous day, Neergard-Petersen carded another five-under-par round. Despite a few mistakes on both the front and back nine, seven birdies and two bogeys were enough to keep him atop the leaderboard at 14-under-par. Three players trail closely at 12-under, keeping the competition tight heading into the final round.
South Korea’s Si Woo Kim impressed with a 65 (-6), despite a bogey on the front nine, but couldn’t overtake the leader. Australia’s Cam Smith and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz both shot 66 and share second place with Kim. Smith notched five birdies and an eagle but also had bogeys on holes 6 and 18. Ortiz played a bogey-free round, highlighted by an eagle on the front nine and three birdies on the back nine.
Bernd Wiesberger ties Rory McIlroy
Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger is currently tied for 24th with World No. 2 Rory McIlroy. Wiesberger shot a 70 on day three, recovering from two early bogeys with four birdies on the back nine, though another bogey kept him at one-under for the day. McIlroy matched his previous day’s 68, staying bogey-free on the back nine with four birdies. However, a double bogey on hole 2 and a bogey on the front nine left him at five-under overall, tied with Wiesberger.
DACH players face challenges in Melbourne
Other DACH players had mixed results. Joel Girrbach posted an even-par 71 to sit T53, while Yannik Paul struggled. After a promising start, Paul triple-bogeyed hole 4 and added three more bogeys on the back nine, finishing with a 77 and dropping to T71. Both will need strong final rounds to climb the leaderboard.