Ángel Hidalgo stamped his name on the week with a brilliant 63 in the third round to charge back into contention. He found 12 birdies in only one round, folks! His tournament-high 9-under 63 came at The K Club. This achievement shot him into the second place tie! That pristine play serves as evidence of just how uncanny his talents truly are. He equaled the European Tour single-round record of 12 birdies set by Darren Clarke en route to an even par score of 60 in the 1999 European Open.
For every inch of drama the tournament Golf-Risk had scooped, Adrien Saddier had shot his way to a surging third-round lead. He ended the round with a blazing 68! His 15-under 201 is not only a new career low for 54 holes, but good enough to leave him atop the leaderboard. Hidalgo is closing in on the division leader, now just three strokes out of first place. He’s really taken advantage of opportunities given to him all day long.
Alfredo Garcia-Heredia made a splash on the course, carding two eagles en route to a 67. His well-rounded game gave him a third-place finish, only three shots shy of Saddier. At the same time, world No. 2 Rory McIlroy made a clean 68, but he’s still four back of Saddier. He is now fourth, tied with Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren. Despite carding four birdies, Lagergren posted a 73 after recording three bogeys and a double-bogey on his round card.
Hidalgo’s perfect scorecard at this week’s Q-School has been the talk of the town not just for how many birdies he made, but which ones. Looking back on his championship play, he described the feeling of making contact on each stroke just right.
“I really felt for a few moments I was playing on the PlayStation, to be honest. Every single shot was directly to the pin.” – Ángel Hidalgo.
The competitive atmosphere at The K Club remains palpable as players vie for top positions heading into the final round. Just a handful of strokes between the leaders and the pretenders. The stage is set and now the excitement is palpable as all eyes turn to Tampa on this exciting final weekend of the tournament!
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