Trophee Hassan II 2017: Paul Dunne Snatches Lead from Gregory Havret on Saturday

Paul Dunne ended the third round of the 2017 Trophee Hassan II two ahead after a round of 69 on Saturday at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Golf Club in Rabat, Morocco.

Dunne took the lead ahead of Italian Renato Paratore, who finished seven-under par on the day for a course-record round of 66. Englishman Paul Waring was one of three players tied for third.

Meanwhile, Lucas Bjerregaard, Tony Fisher Jr. and Gregory Havret, the leader after day two, all saw costly bogeys deny them the chance to challenge at the top. Bjerregaard endured a nightmare finish, dropping three bogeys at the conclusion of the back nine to finish one-over.

Here's what the leaderboard looks like after Saturday's action:

Position	Golfer	To Par	Today	Round 3 Score
1	Paul Dunne	-8	-4	69
2	Renato Paratore	-6	-7	66
T3	Paul Waring	-5	-4	69
T3	Pablo Larrazabal	-5	-4	69
T3	Lasse Jensen	-5	-3	70
T6	Edoardo Molinari	-4	-3	70
T6	Dylan Frittelli	-4	-1	72
T6	Gregory Bourdy	-4	Par	73
T6	Trevor Fisher Jnr.	-4	+1	74
T6	Lucas Bjerregaard	-4	+1	74
T6	Gregory Havret	-4	+2	75

Recap

Fisher got his round started in spectacular fashion with a hat-trick of birdies over the first three holes of the front nine.

The European Tour official Twitter account showed the final birdie putt of that run, while also detailing what Fisher's fast start meant for the leaderboard:

Despite the start, Fisher did hit some trouble on the par-four fourth and par-fourth seventh, having to settle for a bogey at each hole. However, a birdie to finish the front nine, followed by one to start the back nine, left the South African in control at the top.

Fisher's form even meant he briefly joined Paratore at the top after he had put together a superb round earlier on:

One player staying closer to Fisher was Dunne, who began his round with a trio of birdies over the first five holes. Dunne then got the back nine started well with another birdie, this one on the par-five 10th.

He was then in front after managing par on the 11th, while Fisher slipped to a costly bogey. It was only the start of Fisher's problems, as he suffered two more bogeys over the next three holes to go tumbling down the board.

While Fisher struggled, Friday's leader Havret took his time getting into the swing of things in Round 3. However, the Frenchman recovered from a bogey at the par-four seventh to sink two birdie putts over the next three holes.

Yet three more bogeys took Havret out of the top 10.

Meanwhile, Dunne was holding firm at the top despite all the movement behind him. He even withstood a double bogey at the par-four 13 to land par on his next four holes and stay ahead of Bjerregaard.

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Dunne finished in style by sinking a tricky birdie putt on the 18th to end on 69 and two ahead.

Meanwhile, Bjerregaard stumbled with back-to-back bogeys on the 16th and 17th before finishing with another at the 18th. The Dane had started his round with a bogey, but he took par 11 times and sank three birdies over the next 14 holes to seemingly recover.

Dunne deserved top spot on the third day because of the way he avoided the mistakes that plagued players such as Bjerregarrd, Fisher and Havret.

He's now well-placed to complete his win on Sunday.

All scorecard information per the European Tour official website.