Olesen regains advantage

Thorbjørn Olesen overhauled Peter Whiteford at the top of the ISPS HANDA Perth International leaderboard with an electric start to his third round at Lake Karrinyup.

Whiteford, needing a top-two finish to climb into the top 111 on The Race to Dubai this week and keep his European Tour card for next season, started the day with a one shot lead after consecutive rounds of 66.

A birdie from six feet at the first eased some of the immense pressure on the Scot, but playing partner Olesen followed him in from close range to stay one behind.

The 24 year old Dane then chipped in at the long third for an unlikely birdie and converted from 12 feet at the next to snatch the outright lead on 14 under.

Whiteford was only one behind after three straight pars and was still on course to preserve his playing privileges.

Australian Richard Green, in need of a decent showing to qualify for the lucrative Final Series, and Korea’s Sihwan Kim, who like Whiteford needed a top-two finish to avoid a trip to next month’s Qualifying School, were tied for third on ten under.

Scotland’s David Drysdale, needing at least a top-16 finish after 111th-placed Matthew Nixon made the cut, was in a tie for fifth with Friday’s course-record setter James Morrison.

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Olesen followed his early birdie blitz with a run of pars to the turn, but when Whiteford dropped shots at the sixth and seventh he was briefly three clear.

However, the 34 year old Scot gained a shot at the ninth from close range to reduce the arrears to two, with American Peter Uihlein four behind the leader in third.

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