Irish Open 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Saturday
Course records were broken during Saturday's action at the 2015 Irish Open, while Soren Kjeldsen took a two-shot lead heading into the final day of the tournament.
Maximilian Kieffer shot six-under 65 to set a new course record at the Royal County Down Golf Club, per the European Tour's official Twitter account, just hours after Lucas Bjerregaard tied the previous course record with a five-under 66:
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Rafa Cabrera-Bello had a strong day but finished poorly, with two bogeys on his final four holes, and he'll have his work cut out if he wants to catch leader Kjeldsen during Round 4.
Here's a look at the current leaderboard:
| 1 | Soren Kjeldsen | 67 | -7 |
| T2 | Maximilian Kieffer | 65 | -5 |
| T2 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | 69 | -5 |
| T4 | Tyrrell Hatton | 70 | -4 |
| T4 | Bernd Wiesberger | 70 | -4 |
| T4 | Richie Ramsay | 70 | -4 |
| 7 | Niclas Fasth | 67 | -2 |
| T8 | Lucas Bjerregaard | 66 | -1 |
| T8 | Jake Roos | 68 | -1 |
| T8 | Anthony Wall | 69 | -1 |
For the full leaderboard, visit EuropeanTour.com.
Day 3 Recap: Kjeldsen, Kieffer Shine
Kjeldsen was on pace to tie Kieffer's new course record until he hit back-to-back bogeys on the final two holes, bringing his score back down to a four-under 67, good for a two-shot lead at the top of the leaderboard.
The Dane was flawless on the front nine and distanced himself on the back nine with three consecutive birdies, but like so many before him, he fell victim to the brutal finish at the Royal County Down Club.
Rickie Fowler was one of those, managing an incredible eagle on the 16th before finishing with back-to-back scores of eight. The fantastic eagle:
Kjeldsen's short game was on point throughout the day, as he nailed several fantastic puts. This just may have been the best of them all:
The three-time European Tour winner has a two-shot lead over Cabrera-Bello and Kieffer and looks like a strong candidate to win this year's Irish Open. If he can find the green with the consistency he showed on Saturday―12 in regualtion―his short game should take care of the rest.
Kieffer's round was nothing short of sensational. As shared by the European Tour, the young German finished with seven birdies and just one bogey, setting a new course record in the process:
He was sensational with his scrambles―five of six―and did an excellent job in the short game, making up for the fact that he made the fairway only six out of 14 times.
Speaking to the European Tour's official website, he happily conceded he needed some luck to get to the score of six-under 65, as he said: "It was unbelievable, but I did get some breaks today. I played a lot of links as an amateur and I enjoy it. But I wouldn't say I'm that good at it."
Just a few hours before, Bjerregaard tied the course record, but his incredible achievement was overshadowed by the brilliance of his German counterpart:
Tyrrell Hatton sits one shot below Cabrera-Bello and Kieffer after making 15 pars on Saturday on his way to a round of one-under 70. Hatton knows he can do better, and to his credit, he continued pushing and gave himself a fighting chance in Round 4.
He's joined in fourth place by Bernd Wiesberger and Richie Ramsay, who also finished with a one-under 70. Overcoming a three-shot deficit is manageable, but with the way Kjeldsen is putting, the Dane may have already locked up this year's Irish Open.
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