Ross McGowan had company at the top of the leaderboard after the third round of the 2022 Made in HimmerLand as Francesco Laporta, Matthew Southgate and Oliver Wilson joined him at the summit.
McGowan’s fellow Englishman Wilson had reached 19 under after 16 holes but closed his 65 with back-to-back bogeys.
Southgate also fired a third-round 65, which he opened with a remarkable hole-out eagle at the first before adding six birdies and two bogeys.
Italian Laporta closed his 68 with three birdies in the last five holes to grab a share of the lead.
Matthew Jordan was one shot behind the co-leaders in fifth after carding a stunning 62 — the lowest round of the day by three shots early on Saturday.
John Catlin treated the fans gathered around the iconic 16th to a stunning hole-in-one on a memorable third day.
McGowan began the day on 15 under but carded an early bogey after three-putting at the short third.
He bounced back with a 13-foot birdie putt at the fourth before adding back-to-back gains on the seventh and eighth.
The two-time DP World Tour winner then produced five excellent par saves in a row to remain in the hunt before tapping in for a birdie on the 14th, having driven the green.
He gave the shot back after missing the green at the lively 16th before making another good save on the 17th.
A safe par on the last saw McGowan join Laporta, Southgate and Wilson in the clubhouse on 17 under.
McGowan said: “It’s a bunched leaderboard, four tied for the lead, anybody can win it really.”
“Looks like the wind is going to pick up again tomorrow throughout the day so somebody who is on 11 or 12 under with a low round has a chance.”
Laporta mixed four birdies with four bogeys in his first 11 holes before successive birdies on the 14th and 15th got him moving in the right direction.
Then, he birdied the 17th to get to 17 under before giving himself an outside birdie chance on the 18th, which he could not convert.
Laporta said: “It feels good, absolutely amazing.”
“After all of the hard work I’m feeling good to be up there and to have a good chance tomorrow.”
Wilson is searching for his first top-ten finish on the DP World Tour since the 2019 edition of this event, when he finished in a tie for fourth.
He opened his round with a 15-foot birdie before reeling off four gains in a row from the third.
After picking up another shot at the eighth, he made his first bogey of the day on the next hole.
Having nearly holed his approach at the 13th, he got a close-range birdie there before getting up and down for another on the 14th to take the outright lead.
He spun his tee-shot to tap-in range on the 16th for another birdie there before a pair of closing bogeys dropped him to 17 under.
Wilson said: “Obviously my finish leaves a little bit of a sour taste but I played really well.”
“I did a lot of good stuff today and I really didn’t do that much wrong on the last two.”
Southgate made a breathtaking start, holing from 135 yards for a bonus eagle at the first before notching three birdies over his next nine holes.
His next birdie — at the 14th — was sandwiched between two bogeys but he birdied the 16th and 18th to join the lead.
Southgate said: “It was good. I got off to a lovely start. You don’t really expect the shot to go in the hole the way that did at the first — it was all over the flag.”
“So early in the round, it was just such a surprise and it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a nice start.’” europeantour.com
