Schwartzel shoulders Spanish burden

South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel shrugged off a nagging shoulder injury to birdie the final hole for a one- shot lead after the third round of the Madrid Masters.

Schwartzel, who led with Australia’s Marcus Fraser on nine under overnight, hit a four-under-par 67 to go 14 under for the tournament on 199.

Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez carded a nine-under- par 62 to sit a shot behind in second on 13 under par.

Schwartzel gained shots at the fourth and fifth before an eagle at the 540-yard par-five seventh. He then birdied the eighth but dropped a shot at the par three ninth to reach the turn in 32.

He dropped another shot at the 12th but birdies at the par-five 14th and the 18th ensured his place at the top of the leaderboard.

“I didn’t feel very strong this morning but I felt I ground it out nicely today,” Schwartzel said. “I felt very weak and slept very badly last night. Thankfully my shoulder is fine now after the physio treated it, but I still felt ill and got some medication from the doctor.”

Gonzalez was 35 for the out ward nine but then carded birdies at the 10th and 11th before finishing with six threes in a row, including one at the par-five 14th and four birdies to come back in just 27.

Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal hit a nine-under 62 to be in third place on 11 under while Australia’s Andrew Tampion, England’s Paul Waring and Larrazabal’s compatriot Carlos Del Moral are tied for fourth on 10 under.

AFP, Madrid