Wesselingh in sight of successful title defence

The ISPS HANDA PGA Seniors Championship is bubbling to an exciting climax with Paul Wesselingh in pole position to retain his title.

The defending champion fired a three under par 70 to reach 11 under for the £260,000 tournament and  lead by one stroke from Des Smyth, Mike Cunning and DJ Russell at De Vere Mottram Hall.

Former World No.1 Ian Woosnam isn’t out of the running either after his chip in for a birdie on the last gave him a 71 which left him just four shots off the pace going into the final round.

With another warm day making the Dave Thomas-designed course even trickier, the European Senior Tour’s oldest event is developing into another vintage affair with Wesselingh set to play a leading role.

The Kedleston Park attached pro is aiming to emulate past greats such as Sam Torrance, John Morgan and Christy O’Connor by winning successive PGA Seniors titles but he won’t spend much time dwelling on the prospect.

“I’m not really even thinking about it, I just plod my way around, get into my own little world and just get on with it,” he said.

Wesselingh made his now customary fast start with two birdies in his opening three holes but was unable to build on that.

“It was a funny round, I didn’t feel as though I could get going,” he added.

“I’m hitting the ball well, I just didn’t hole a lot of putts. The key holes on the back nine are 16 and 17, I got a good four on 17 which is such a tough hole.

“It is just a case of not trying to make any stupid mistakes, make a few birdies and hang on in there on that back nine. 14 is a tough hole, even though I know I made birdie today you can easily walk off there with a five without hitting a bad shot.”

Overnight leader Smyth had to settle for a 73 with a birdie on the last ensuring his evening drink would taste a bit sweeter.

“It was a real game of halves for me today, I played beautifully on the front nine and was a bit unhappy and unlucky to be only two under par. But then on the back nine I played some scrappy stuff, to be honest, but at least I ended well with a birdie on the last.

“I was a bit lucky with my third shot on 18, because it hit the pin and stopped stone dead. If it had rolled five feet past there’s no way I would’ve holed the putt, because I haven’t got up and down all week!

“The back nine hasn’t been very kind to me so far this week, but tomorrow would definitely be a very good time to change that, so we’ll just give it our best shot and hope it’s good enough.”

Russell dropped his first shot of the week on the ninth but two birdies over the back nine helped him post a 71 and put him in with a chance of reclaiming the title that he won in 2010.

“It was obviously a bit disappointing to have my first bogey, but I guess at least I got the monkey off my back, so that’s out of my mind now.

“I struggled to get the pace of the greens a little bit, it was tough to get them dead early on but I did very well coming in, so hopefully I can continue that tomorrow.

“After I bogeyed the ninth hole I forgot to take my painkillers for my neck on the tenth tee, so I struggled a little bit with the pain on the back nine. My caddie’s only job tomorrow is to remind me to take my tablets – he doesn’t have to worry about the club selection!”

Cunning bogeyed16 and 17 but the American from Phoenix, Arizona, is hopeful he can become the first overseas winner of the PGA Seniors since John Grace in 2000.

“It seems like everyone’s been going three or four under every day so let’s try to do that and see if it is good enough,” he said.

German-based PGA Professional Simon Brown, who is juggling coaching duties with full time playing having gained his tour card, is at three under for the tournament as is Eaglescliffe head pro Graeme Bell.