July 19-21
WINSTONopen Course, WINSTONgolf, Vorbeck, Germany
€350,000
Round 1, Round 3

José María Olazábal will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the WINSTONgolf Senior Open after recording a second consecutive round of 66, six under par, which included a hole-in-one.

The 2012 Ryder Cup Captain carded his lowest round on the over-50s circuit at WINSTONgolf on day one and followed up his opening round of 66 with another six under par round to sit in pole position for his first Staysure Tour win.

Olazábal began his second round from the tenth hole and made his first birdie of the day on the par-four 13th but relinquished the shot on the following hole, making the turn at level par.

However, the Spaniard raced into the lead on the back nine with gains on the first and third – his tenth and 12th – before holing his tee shot on the 162-yard par-three fourth, as overnight leader Esteban Toledo fell away. With his confidence high following his seventh career hole-in-one, the two-time Masters Tournament winner recorded two further gains to sit in the clubhouse at 12 under par at the end of day two.

With 18 holes left to play at WINSTONgolf and a debut Staysure Tour title in sight, Olazábal is ready for a final day battle.

“I haven’t won a senior event yet so it would be fantastic to win one,” he said. “It would be fantastic if it happened, but I have other things in my mind which I’m looking out for and that is producing good shots, especially when the pressure is on.

“The round didn’t start especially well today. I shot level par on the back nine – my front nine – then all of a sudden, I had a great run of holes.

“On three I put it close to make birdie there, then on the fourth I hit a wonderful six iron to make a hole-in-one. I hit a poor tee shot on five and I was lucky to make a four on that hole. Then I hit two good shots on six and seven to make two birdies. It was one of those days where I got my score in five holes.

“I’m looking for consistency by putting good scores together and hitting good shots, they are my goals at the moment. I know I’m not 100 per cent confident with my swing right now but I managed to hit a few good shots and the bad ones that I hit didn’t cost me dearly. Hopefully I can keep doing that.

“The challenge is going to come, no doubt. Bernhard Langer is a very steady player and has a fantastic record, so I know I will have to play very well because I know he will be pushing hard to try and win.”

England’s Gary Wolstenholme sits in second place, three strokes behind the Spaniard after signing for a bogey-free four under par round of 68, while Olazábal expects the biggest challenge to come from home favourite and two-time Major Champion Langer on the final day.

The German recorded a four under par round of 68 and sits at eight under par, four shots behind Olazábal, alongside Phillip Price of Wales and Englishman Jamie Spence after their rounds of 66 and 69, respectively. The third and final round of the WINSTONgolf Senior Open gets under way at 8:36am local time, with Olazábal teeing off alongside Langer and Wolstenholme at 10:15am.