Westwood stays on top as Saltman fades

Lee Westwood will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Nordea Masters after keeping the chasing pack at bay in Stockholm.

A round of 68 was good enough for Westwood to maintain the advantage he had enjoyed at the halfway stage at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, although England’s Ross Fisher rather than Swede Peter Hanson is now his nearest challenger.

Westwood finished the day on 16 under par, with Fisher 13 under after a superb 65 and Ryder Cup team-mate Hanson a further shot back after a battling 69.

It was a disappointing day for Lloyd Saltman, who started out in a tie for second but slipped 30 places after a 75 that included a double-bogey 5 at the 17th. It dropped him back to six-under, one behind compatriot Peter Whiteford, who is tied for 22nd after a 69. Gary Orr, the only other Scot to make the cut, is tied for 50th on three-under following a 71.

Westwood had started in the perfect fashion with a birdie on the par-five first, but on the second he ran up a bogey five. The world No 3 bounced back quickly with a stunning approach to the par-three fourth which finished just inches from the flag to set up the easiest of birdies.

A number of other chances went begging on the front nine before Westwood rolled in a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th to ensure he would keep his nose in front following Thursday’s superb 64.

“I played well, hit a lot of good shots and it was some solid stuff,” Westwood said. “I didn’t really get into too much trouble. I got a bit of a flier on the second and that was the only bogey I made all day.”

He added: “I did misread a couple of putts on the front nine, the one on five and the one on eight, but other than that I putted well. I’ve read the greens well this week and rolled in a couple of nice ones on the back nine.”

Fisher put last week’s one-shot penalty for slow play during the final round of the Wales Open firmly behind him, carding three birdies on the front nine and four on the back to storm up the leaderboard.

England’s Richard Bland is five shots off the lead in fourth after a 68, with Swedish duo Michael Jonzon and Alexander Noren sharing fifth another shot back.