David Lipsky Puts up Gallant Fight With a 69 at Omega European Masters

Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion David Lipsky of the United States continued to put up a strong defence of his title by carding a third round one-under-par 69 under tough scoring conditions at the Omega European Masters on Saturday.

Lipsky will head into the final round three shots back of the English pair of Danny Willett and Matt Fitzpatrick after they posted matching total of 12-under-par 198 to share the lead at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

Korea's Y.E. Yang and Seukhyun Baek battled through the gusty conditions and returned with matching 74s to share fifth place on a day where only 17 out of 71 players broke par at the Swiss showpiece.

Having started his day tied for fifth and five shots back of the lead, Lipsky suffered an early stumble with two bogeys in his opening three holes.

The Korean-American recovered well with a pair of birdies on four and five before turning in 35.

Another pair of birdies on 14 and 15 set him up for a good finish only for a bogey-five on 18 to peg him back on the leaderboard.

"It was brutal out there with the winds picking up. I made up grounds with the leaders which was my goal today. I thought I would lose ground shooting one-under but with this wind today, you just got to hold on and hope for the best," said Lipsky.

Lipsky knows the weight of expectations that comes from being a defending champion and is ready for the final round contest.

"Obviously I want to win the title and there's lots of pressure involved with that. But whoever I'm playing with tomorrow, I'm just going to go out there and have some fun.

"I'll definitely be looking at the leaderboard as it helps to know what I need to do to progress through the round," said Lipsky.

Baek, who is chasing his breakthrough on the Asian Tour, is also aware he is still in the mix despite returning with a 74.

"When I reached the last hole, I found out I was only four back. So I still have a chance," said the Korean, who mixed his card with six bogeys and two birdies.

"It was really hard as I've never seen this golf course so windy before. I'm not happy with the score but that's the way it is," added Baek.

Yang also cut a frustrated figure on the course as he could not get his game going under the windy conditions.

The Asian Tour honorary member could only mark his card with one birdie on 15 with the rest coloured with bogeys on holes one, four, 11, 16 and 17.

"Hopefully tomorrow's a better day and I can go low and surmount a charge. It was not easy with the winds today," said Yang.

The Omega European Masters is the only event on European soil to be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour since 2009.