Larrazábal still the man to catch

Pablo Larrazábal continued to head a congested field as the KLM Open moved towards an intriguing conclusion.

One of four overnight leaders at Hilversumsche GC, Larrazábal turned in 34 to reach 13 under.

That put him one clear of Peter Hanson, with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, the winner here in 2005, a shot further back.

Graeme Storm and Scott Jamieson, who also shared top spot at the beginning of the day, were back at nine under, having each dropped three strokes.

Birdies proved difficult to come by for the final groups, but Larrazábal was able to make positive progress after an opening bogey.

Excellent approaches to the third and ninth enabled him to pull clear, and he also saw further opportunities go begging.

Hanson, part of Europe’s Ryder Cup Team, made his only birdie of the day at six and rescued a superb par on the ninth following an errant drive.

Things did not go so well for Storm, who was five clear at one stage yesterday, having gone 48 holes without a bogey.

After dropping two shots in succession in the closing stages of his penultimate round, he did the same today, losing ground on the fourth and fifth.

Another bogey at the ninth left the Englishman requiring something special.

Yet the finish of Richard Finch, who collected an eagle at 12 and an albatross at 18 in his 64, showed what was possible.