Home hero Joost Luiten defied strong winds and torrential rain to establish a one shot lead heading into the final day of the KLM Open.
Luiten, who is bidding to become the first Dutchman to win his national Open for a decade, posted a superb round of 66 at Kennemer Golf and Country Club to climb to ten under par.
He is currently one stroke ahead of Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jiménez, who battled hard to sign for a level par round of 70, whilst Irishman Damien McGrane and Frenchman Julien Quesne share third place on eight under par after carding respective rounds of 67 and 70.
Despite dropping a shot at the first hole, Luiten rewarded the home fans who had braved the treacherous conditions in Zandvoort.
The two-time European Tour champion chipped in twice for birdie – first on the sixth, and later on the 16th hole – and also sunk a monster putt on the 17th green for another birdie to delight the large galleries.
He said: “It was tough, today was all about survival, especially the first nine holes when it was raining and very windy. The rain was coming in sideways at one point, and the cross winds were swirling. At that point I thought par was going to be a good score, if you’d offered me a 70 then I would have signed up. So to shoot a 66 was very, very pleasing.
“I’m just trying to enjoy it. It’s great to see so many people out there supporting me, even though it’s windy and wet. It’s nice to know everyone’s behind me, and I just want to play as well as I can for them. It would be a dream come true to win this tournament, but there’s a long way to go yet.”
Jiménez, the oldest winner in European Tour history after his victory in Hong Kong last year aged 48 and 318 days, carded 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey in his level par round, but fellow overnight leader and compatriot Pablo Larrazábal endured a difficult day, opening with a triple bogey seven en route to carding a round of 77.
McGrane, whose sole European Tour title to date in the 2008 Volvo China Open came in similar conditions, was the only player to keep the bogeys off his card.
With high winds again predicted for Sunday’s closing round, the winner could be decided in a battle of attrition.