SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — In a thrilling third round at the Open de France, Swedish golfer Jesper Svensson delivered a remarkable performance, posting a score of 67 on Saturday and gaining a narrow one-stroke advantage over Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen and England’s Sam Bairstow.

Svensson kicked off his round with an impressive display, sinking four birdies in his first six holes, bringing his total for the day to five. However, a bogey on the 17th hole at Le Golf National brought him down slightly, concluding his round at 13 under par overall.

Despite the blemish on his card, the 28-year-old Svensson showcased excellent consistency, successfully hitting 16 of the 18 greens in regulation during the round. “I hit the ball really well all day, a lot of good looks, hit a lot of good putts,” he expressed. “A lot of putts slid past, hopefully they’ll drop tomorrow.”

Olesen matched Svensson’s score of 67 with four birdies of his own, while Bairstow delivered an outstanding 65, which included a remarkable chip-in eagle on the 14th hole. “The front nine was very smooth and I just holed a few putts on the back nine,” Bairstow shared, displaying confidence as he looked ahead to the final round.

Dan Bradbury from England, who had shared the lead with Svensson and Belgium’s Thomas Detry going into the day, finished with a 69. He now finds himself two strokes behind Svensson, tied for fourth alongside fellow Englishman Joe Dean, who shot a solid 66. Meanwhile, Detry struggled with a score of 1-over 72, which placed him in a tie for 15th at 8 under, alongside England’s Justin Rose, who previously tied for second at the British Open in July.

Additionally, 16-year-old Ukrainian Lev Grinberg was competing in just his fifth European Tour event. Unfortunately, he faced a setback with a triple bogey on the 15th hole due to two balls landing in the water, leading to a round of 70. This resulted in him dropping to a tie for 30th place overnight.