An introduction with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has Ewen Ferguson excited of a triple victory treat this rookie season heading to the final round of the Made in Himmerland in Denmark.
Donald introduced himself to Ferguson ahead of the Scot’s third round of a three-under 68 that had the 26-year-old sharing sixth place and only two shots off the lead at 15-under-par on the Farso course.
Four players – the England trio of Ross McGowan (69), Oliver Wilson (65) and Matthew Southgate (65) along with Italy’s Francesco Laporta (68) – share the lead on 17-under.
Wilson, 41, continues to impress picking-up nine birdies as he seeks just a second Tour victory just a few week’s shy of the eighth anniversary of his 2014 Dunhill Links victory at St. Andrews.
The four leaders are also all outside the top-110 on the DP World Tour rankings.
Ferguson, already the winner of two events in his rookie season, capped his round birdieing the par-5 eighth hole for a third day in a row and while missing the cut last week in Switzerland he’s still riding a golfing high.
Ferguson said: “I am pretty happy with the ways things are going, and still very much in the mix heading into tomorrow.
“The good thing is I managed to hang-on to my round in some of the tougher parts of the course, and was really pleased to par the last as it’s a bloody hard tee shot.
“Looking ahead to the final round, I was one behind and now just two back this week, so I will just go out and see what I can do”.
Ferguson had played in the company for the opening two rounds of Danish legend Thomas Bjorn, captain of the 2018 victorious European Team and now a Rome vice-captain, and with the 2023 qualifying process starting next week, Ferguson could not be happier.
He said: “I was really nervous as Luke Donald came up to me when I was warming-up on the range this morning, so I thought I must be doing something right for him to come over and introduce himself.
“So, that was quite cool and after having played the first two rounds in the same group as Thomas Bjorn, so pleased to have played some good stuff in front of him”.
And Ferguson had a front-row seat at the short 128-yard par-3 14th when American playing partner John Catlin holed-out for an ace who shot a 69 to be tied with Scot Robert MacIntyre.
MacIntyre posted a 69 to be sharing ninth on 13-under.
OTHER SCOTS
203 – Craig Howie (Third round 71)
205 – Stephen Gallacher (69)
206 – David Drysdale (70), Richie Ramsay (71)
210 – David Law (73)
211 – Grant Forrest (73)
