European Open 2017: Jordan Smith Leads After Stormy Round 3 Action

Jordan Smith opened up a lead over the field during Saturday's 2017 European Open action at Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg, Germany, as the Englishman coped best with the tricky weather conditions to shoot a five-under 67.

At 12 under par, Smith leads by two shots ahead of Jens Fahrbring and Alexander Levy. Friday's leader, Ashley Chesters, sits one shot further back at nine under.

Here's a look at the leaderboard:

Recap

Weather conditions proved difficult on Saturday, making for a tough day of golf on a course that appeared to favour the big hitters. As the European Tour's official Twitter account shared, many of the players had a dreadful time out:

Chesters played his worst round of the tournament yet, recording his first two bogeys on the front nine. He was able to limit the damage on the back nine but still found himself outside the top three.

Smith didn't make a single mistake on Saturday on his way to the lead. His short game in particular stood out, with plenty of his rivals struggling to make the green in the tough conditions.

Levy, the defending champion, bore the brunt of the stormy conditions on the back nine, even turning his cap backwards just to deal with the wind at one point. He recovered from a double bogey on the fourth to card a round of three-under and keep his chances of repeating as champion alive.

Oliver Hardt/Getty Images

Fahrbring was solid throughout the day, with just a single birdie and no mistakes on the back nine resulting in a round of two-under. 

While most fans had their eyes glued on the battle for the lead, there was plenty of action further back. Marcel Siem, playing in front of his German fans, won himself a brand-new Porsche by holing the 17th.

Here's a look at the amazing shot:

Richard Sterne had a fantastic day, playing a round of six-under to move up 39 spots on the leaderboard. The South African dropped a shot on the sixth but was otherwise flawless, with a solid run of birdies on the back nine bringing up his score.

Ryan McCarthy also finished the day at nine under total, courtesy of a four-under round in which he dropped just a single shot.