Golf:Simon Thornton is within touching distance of his first victory on the European Challenge Tour after moving into a share of the lead with England's Sam Little after the third round of the Golf Open Grand Toulouse.
The 34-year-old, who had to hand back his European Tour card at the end of 2010 after finishing 141st on the Race to Dubai, carded a third round 67 for a 13 under par total of 200 at Golf de Toulouse-Seilh in south west France, to move alongside Little, who posted a 66.
Thornton, winner of the Irish Club Professional Championship in 2005, finished in a tie for third place in the big money Kazakhstan Open two weeks ago to help him move up to 25th place in the rankings and he knows another big week this week will see him advance into the top 20.
“I’m not the type of player who can play four or five weeks in a row so when I did well in Kazakhstan it gave me the chance to miss Russia and concentrate on this week,” he said. “If I therefore can have a good week here, it means I can take next week off and then concentrate on the end of the season.”
Level par after ten holes of his third round, the Irishman looked far from leader material but he suddenly found his range on the Seilh venue’s greens and he rattled in birdie putts at the 11th, 12th, 15th and 16th.
“It was just the putting I was struggling with a bit,” he said. “I three putted both the fourth and the tenth for bogey but then I just managed to find the pace and the range and that helped me produce a strong finish which is great as I’m right in the mix now.”
