Royal Golf Club: Awali: Callum Tarren will take a slender one-shot lead into the final round of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after holding off a stellar chasing pack on a roller-coaster third day.
The Englishman went into day three with a two-shot lead but was caught at the summit early on after opening with three straight pars.
His round then burst into life, with birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh sending him four clear at the top of the leaderboard.
But there were more twists and turns to come as three bogeys in five holes from the eighth allowed countryman Dan Brown to join him at the top.
Tarren was never overtaken on Saturday, though, and finished the day alone at the summit on 13 under par after parring his way home to sign for a level-par 72.
“I’m a bit frustrated really,” he said. “I got off to such a good start, felt so comfortable.
“I just missed a few putts in that mid-section of the round, three-putted the eighth, a short one at the ninth, a good chance at the tenth and didn’t capitalise.
“At the 11th I felt like the tee-shot wasn’t bad, it got a hard kick right, I think. Then it’s tough to that back flag, a short put on the next.
“And then I kind of hung in there coming in. I’m frustrated but still in the lead and we’ll go again tomorrow.”
The 34-year-old can take great confidence from his third-round performance as he goes in search of his maiden DP World Tour title on Sunday, having given himself plenty of birdie chances on the back nine.
“I’ve felt comfortable all week and I felt comfortable out there today,” he added. “The start showed it – through seven holes I was cruising.
“Just a couple of missed putts here and there but that’s golf. Final group tomorrow again and I have the lead so there’s lots of positives to take from it.”
Tarren will face strong competition from the high-quality quartet in second place just one shot back – Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal, Italian Francesco Laporta and Englishmen Brown and Brandon Robinson Thompson.
“I wish one day I could come to Bahrain for holidays, but tomorrow I will try to play good golf, start well,” said Larrazábal. “I’ve played almost 450 tournaments, but the nerves are still there because I care about it. There is nothing better than to win a golf tournament.”
Football Fever in Championship Village
The Championship Village once again kept fans of all ages entertained with a highlight of the day coming when Bahrain men’s national football team coach, Dragan Talajic, gave an insightful Q&A, and posed for photos alongside the recently won Gulf Cup trophy.
Tomorrow’s final round is set to produce a thrilling finale on and off the course. Aside from the battle for glory among the tournament leaders, there will be another special guest visitor in the form of Al Qadsiah FC and Belgian national team goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
