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Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg is just one round away from recording a remarkable victory at the Vierumaki Finnish Challenge. Karlberg only returned to action at the start of this season after spending six months on the sidelines with a serious infection. He started the third round with a narrow lead and that will continue into Sunday’s final round.
Karlberg shot a round of 68 to move on to 13-under par, with the 32-year-old firing home four birdies to settle the nerves. Karlberg did drop shots on the 15th and 16th although he responded by making birdies at the final two holes.
He now leads South Africa’s Bryce Easton by one shot, while Mark Young and Roope Kakko are in a share of third on 11-under. Karlberg told the European Tour: “The last few tournaments I’ve played on the main tour, I started to feel like I had the game to compete again but the edge was just missing.
“After not playing for over year it’s taken a little while to try and find my game again, but the result in Austria proved to me that I could challenge. I feel that I am now in a position where I can go out there and play my best golf. “With the leaderboard so closely packed I’m going to need to go low out there again tomorrow, so I’m just trying to be as relaxed as I was today and see what happens.”
