Oleson takes three shot lead in Betfred British Masters at The Belfry on DP World Tour

Thorbjorn Oleson (Den) shot a strong third round of three under par 69, to take a three shot lead with 18 holes to play in the £1.85 million Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, week 14 of 44 on the 2022 DP World Tour.

The Dane, whose most recent DP World Tour title came at the Italian Open in June 2018, followed an eagle at the 17th, one of two in his round, with a closing birdie to card a third round three under par 69 in the Spring sunshine at The Belfry.

Olesen, 32, started the day one shot off halfway leader Hurly Long (Ger), but after an errant tee shot led to a bogey at the first, he kickstarted his round with a hole-out eagle at the fifth.

Another bogey followed at the tenth, before a brilliant towering second shot into the par five 17th green set up the simplest of eagles and he then capped his day by rolling in a long range birdie putt across the 18th green as Richie Ramsay, who held a two shot lead at the 12th faltered down the stretch.

No one threatened to get close to Oleson as all the second round leaders all seemed to move down the leaderboard, rather than up it.

Oleson, a five time winner on the DP World Tour looks to add to that tally and to improve on his current OWGR of 376, whereas in 2013, Oleson stood as high as 33 on the global rankings.

England’s Marcus Armitage and Long are his nearest challengers at eight under, with American Chase Hanna, Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti, South Africa’s Justin Walters, Olesen’s compatriot Rasmus Højgaard and Scotland’s Ramsay another shot further back.

Armitage holed from long range at the last for a par to the applause of the large crowds to card for a two under 70, while Long made three birdies in his last six holes to shoot a 71 after five bogeys in his first 12 had left him at five under.

Ramsay dropped three shots in his last seven holes as he shot a 73, while Højgaard carded a level-par 72 that featured three birdies, a bogey and an eagle as Walters, who the Dane beat in a play-off to win the ISPS HANDA UK Championship at The Belfry in 2020, bogeyed the last for a 71.

Challenge Tour Graduate Chase Hanna (US) was the biggest mover of the day as a flawless 66 saw him jump into contention, with Zanotti alongside the American after a 69 that included four birdies and an eagle.