Newcastle golfer Andrew Dodt is one good round away from a $1.25 million pay day after storming to the lead in the European Tour’s flagship event in England.
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Dodt will tee off at 10pm (AEST) at Wentworth on Sunday in the $US7 million ($9.4 million) European PGA Championship with a one-stroke lead at eight under.
He shot a four-under 68 on Saturday to go with a pair of 70s on days one and two.
The 31-year-old, who is 43rd on the Race to Dubai after two good finishes to start the season, moved up 10 places on a day when most players struggled with wind gusts, especially on the tree-lined course’s front nine.
He took advantage of the prevailing breezes on the back nine on Saturday as he rattled off birdies at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 17th.
“The last seven holes were a little bit easier playing downwind compared to the first two days,” he said. “But you've still got to hit the shots, and I did that today.”
Dodt will command plenty of attention in the final round and knows he will have to contend with a few butterflies. He has won twice on the European Tour, in India (2010) and Thailand (2015).
“It's going to be tough out there,” the world No.251 said. “There will be a lot of nerves. I've just got to do what I've been doing the last three days. If I can do that, I can give myself a chance.”
South African Branden Grace, who caused controversy on Thursday over a free drop he took from a bunker, is a shot back, and 44-year-old English favourite Lee Westwood is equal third, three shots back.
Westwood birdied 16, 17 and 18, much to the delight of his home crowd.
On Thursday, Grace's ball was plugged on an awkward upslope in a greenside bunker at the par-four 13th hole. He summoned a rules official, saying his feet were touching rubber at the base of the sand, and the world No.26 was given a free drop.
Last year's US Masters winner, Danny Willett, said on his Twitter account: “@EuropeanTour please explain that drop?! Burying feet enough in to get to the base of the bunker.”
Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley was also less than pleased, saying: “If you twist your feet enough, you're bound to eventually reach the bunker lining.”
Grace responded by saying that he had played by the rules.
“It is something that brought attention to a lot of guys out there who maybe didn't know about that rule, but now they know,” he said after posting a seven-under aggregate of 209 on Saturday.
"Some guys are going to love it and some guys are going to hate it. That's always the game. I can only ask the question and he gave me relief."
Helped by his low ball flight, Grace picked up six birdies in his round including a stunning sequence of four in five holes from the 10th.
World No.5 Henrik Stenson, the highest-ranked player in the field, needs a barrage of final-round birdies to get into contention after he returned a 73 for 212.
