SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands (AP) — Carlos Del Moral set a European Tour record of 20 putts in a 9-under 63 Saturday for a three-shot lead after the third round of the Madeira Islands Open.
Del Moral birdied his last three holes to move to 17 under for the tournament on the mountainous Santo da Serra course.
The Valencia-born Del Moral, who is seeking a first win on the European Tour, made nine one-putts over the back nine.
Swedish rookie Joakim Lagergren (70) birdied the last to move to 14 under, a shot clear of a four-way tie between Swedes Mikael Lundberg (64) and Magnus Carlsson (71), Portugal’s Ricardo Santo (68) and England’s Oliver Wilson (72).
The European tour confirmed his round as the lowest number of putts for 18 holes in any tour event. The record comes a week after the European Tour celebrated its 40th anniversary.
