British Masters 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Sweden's Alex Noren will take a three-shot lead into the final day of the 2016 British Masters after he shot a faultless 65 to move to 16 under par at The Grove, Hertfordshire, England, on Saturday.

Friday's overnight leader, England's Richard Bland, birdied the last hole to card a two-under round of 69 and move into second place on his own on 13 under.

Meanwhile, tied in third place on 12 under are Noren's compatriot, Peter Hanson, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and South Africa's Richard Sterne.

Here is how the leaderboard looks after Saturday's action:

#	Nat	Player	Overall	R3 Score
1	SWE	Alexander Noren	-16	65
2	ENG	Richard Bland	-13	69
T3	SWE	Peter Hanson	-12	66
T3	AUT	Bernd Wiesberger	-12	67
T3	RSA	Richard Sterne	-12	67
T3	ENG	Tommy Fleetwood	-12	68
T7	GER	Marcel Siem	-11	65
T7	ENG	Lee Westwood	-11	67
9	NIR	Graeme McDowell	-10	67
T10	ESP	Jorge Campillo	-9	67

Full leaderboard is available via the European Tour website.

Noren's was a bogey-less round, which was remarkable as much for how regularly he saved par from tricky spots as for his six birdies on two, six, 10, 15, 17 and 18.

On the way home, he saved par impressively at 11 and then got up and down in classy fashion on 16 after spraying his drive right on the par three.

Boosted by his save, he proceeded to birdie 17 with a 15-footer and then dealt a potential hammer blow to his competitors by sinking a monster putt for four on the par-five, last to move to 16 under, per the European Tour:

There were fewer fireworks in Bland's round and more mistakes. But he remains Noren's closest challenger having made up for his bogeys at four and 12 with birdies on the first, second, 15th and 18th.

Hanson's 66 was also blemish-free, as was Wiesberger's, whose last bogey of the tournament came on the fourth hole of his opening round.

A quick start will be necessary on Sunday if any of the chasing pack are to catch Noren, and there are plenty capable of such heroics.

Perhaps none more so than Marcel Siem, currently tied for seventh on 11 under—with Lee Westwood— following a brilliant round of 65 on Saturday.

The German's first 12 holes were fairly nondescript as he birdied two and 10, and then he handed a shot back on 12.

But an astonishing run in the final six put him firmly in the picture near the top of the leaderboard, per the European Tour:

Graeme McDowell will be rueing the fact he is not alongside Siem and Westwood on 11 under after he found sand on the 18th and could not save par.

However, the Northern Irishman looks in fine touch—he carded five birdies on Saturday—and is another player who could be in the mix if he makes a decent start in his final round.

Given the quality in the chasing pack, it would be foolish to suggest this year's British Masters is a foregone conclusion.

But it is Noren's to lose, and he looks in ominously good form.