Omega European Masters 2013 Leaderboard: Biggest Stars in Early Saturday Action

Having made the cut and progressed to the final stages of this weekend’s Omega European Masters, the first obstacle is out of the way for those battling it out in Switzerland.

However, the biggest struggle begins now, at Crans-sur-Sierre. Some of the European Tour’s best and brightest look to mount their surge towards continental dominance.

In Saturday’s early tees, several names have popped up to rise through the ranks and do their title bids some major good in the process.

Stats correct as of Saturday, Sept. 7, 12 p.m. BST.

Stephen Dodd

Stephen Dodd was somewhat of a mixed bag in his first two rounds of this weekend’s alpine outing, but he is putting his best shift in when things really matter.

The Welshman began Day 3 at one under par but managed to claw a great deal back at the third attempt on the Crans-sur-Sierre course, birdying the seventh, eighth and ninth holes in succession.

His Day 3 initiative gained him another three birdies and two bogies, and Dodd has managed to push himself into the silverware reckoning as a result.

Julien Quesne

Improving step by step as his tournament goes on, Julien Quesne is learning from his Swiss surroundings every time he plays through the alpine course.

The 33-year-old dropped a total of five shots on Day 1, followed by just one bogey on Day 2. He did even better at the third time of asking, enjoying a spotless first nine in which he managed to birdie the first, fourth and sixth tees.

That was before another two birdies were sunk on the 13th and 15th, spiking Frenchman Quesne up into the top 20 after the morning standings.

Now at six under par overall, Quesne certainly can’t be ruled out of the running to win the Alps visit, as long as he achieves some level of consistency tomorrow.

Mikko Korhonen

Mikko Korhonen’s roller-coaster first two days were brought into some form of normality on Saturday, when the Finnish contender managed to avoid a double-bogey for the first time in his European Masters.

The 33-year-old’s front nine included two birdies and a bogey, followed up by an even more successful back stretch, yielding seven pars and two more birdies.

A major improvement on his earlier form, Korhonen put himself in good stead for a late surge in Sunday’s action. He currently sits on a score of four under par.