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Martin Kaymer Leads at Open d’Italia Going into Final Round

By Elizabeth Bethel

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2014 US Open champion Martin Kaymer who recently lost his 2016 PGA TOUR card, fired a brilliant 65 to move into a share of the lead ahead of the final round of the 72nd Open d’Italia presented by DAMIANI.

Read more about the circumstances surrounding Kaymer’s loss of his PGA TOUR card

Kaymer was top seeded at the Open d’Italia as he came into the week looking for a first win since claiming his second Major Championship victory at the US Open at Pinehurst last year, but he earlier faced a big challenge on moving day from joint-leaders Jens Fahrbring and Romain Wattel and the chasing pack.

Kaymer started the day three shots behind Fahrbring and Lucas Bjerregaard but he soon reduced that gap to one as he got up and down from sand on the first to make a birdie and then picked up another shot on the second to quickly move to 12 under.

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A third consecutive gain followed on the third and with the overnight leaders both parring the first, Kaymer was in a three-way tie for the lead.

His run continued on the fourth with another birdie moving him out on front on his own but a bogey on the next dropped him back into a share of top spot.

Fahbring had dropped a shot on the third but a run of three birdies from the fifth made him the first player to reach 15 under before he gave a shot back on the eighth, where Kaymer had made a gain, and when the World Number 22 birdied the 11th, the lead was his again.

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    • The Swede was giving as good as he got and went level at the top after a birdie on the 12th but Kaymer kept his foot down and a seventh birdie of the day on the 14th made him the first player to reach 16 under.

    Fahrbring dropped a shot on the last to sign for a 68 and slip back alongside Kaymer and Wattel, who recorded a 66 on Saturday.  

    Kaymer, reflecting in his post-round press conference on today’s round and the challenges he faces in Sunday’s final round, feels optimistic about his position on the leaderboard.

    "I am looking forward to tomorrow – it will be a challenge to myself and a challenge to beat my opponents. I am up there with a chance to win on Sunday and that’s all you want at the end of the day."

    Asked about his Sunday strategy, Kaymer has this to say:

    "It’s important that you don’t look too far ahead and start to think about what could happen. You also don’t want to rush into an aggressive mode too soon. It might be the case that some of the guys who are out before me make a really fast start so it is a fine line to figure out what the best plan is. You have to also enjoy the day and I think I have enough experience of being in this position to enjoy it."

    Kaymer’s a reflective tactician when it comes to mapping out his final round strategy, explaining:

    "It will be interesting to see what happens over the first nine holes and to see how I feel mentally. Once you get on the back nine you have to be a bit more spontaneous and adjust to the situation around you."

    You can watch Kaymer put his plan into action as Golf Channel is providing a delayed broadcast of the Open d’Italia final round beginning at 4pm ET Sunday, September 20.

    Next: Open d'Italia Power Rankings

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