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INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Eagle Man

Hoey continues to flourish in Scotland

The Northern Ireland golfer still leads the field at the Alfred Dunhill Championships but several of his compatriots are hot on his heels.

A BRIGHT START to his third round has seen Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey establish a three-stroke lead over the rest of the field at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, with one day of action remaining.

Starting his day on Carnoustie’s tenth hole, the joint-overnight leader collected birdies on 11 and 12 before an eagle on the par-five 15th saw him surge ahead to 16-under par. The 32-year-old picked up further shots on the front nine before a bogey on his second-last hole (the eighth hole of the course) saw him drop back and finish with a third consecutive round of 66 and an 18-under-par total of 198.

Leading the chasing pack is Hoey’s compatriot Graeme McDowell, who had an eagle of his own to celebrate on the second. He could not, however, match the leader’s birdie rate and ended the day three shots back on -15.

One stroke further back is former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen – who carded a 69 on the old course at St. Andrews – with Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington amongst a gaggle of players tied for fourth on 13-under.

McIlroy went around in 66 and it was also a good day’s work from Harrington, who had slipped somewhat off the pace on Friday, as a 64 moved him right back up the leaderboard. The Dubliner produced a faultless card of eight birdies – including a birdie, birdie, birdie run from the 16th – to finish in style.

A 72 has left Shane Lowry on -7 and in a share of 41th position with Peter Lawrie one stroke further behind on -6, both men clear of the project cut of -5.

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