Fisher leads the field at the Irish Open

The Englishman leads by one stroke ahead of compatriot Chris Wood and the Italian Francesco Molinari at Killarney.

Ross Fisher leads by one stroke after his third round at the Irish Open tailed off following a flying start yesterday. The Englishman held a three-shot overnight lead after a stunning second round of 61, and continued his momentum after scoring birdies on four of the first seven holes. But a double-bogey at the eighth brought him back to the field and he dropped further shots at the 15th and 17th holes to card a level-par 71, allowing fellow Englishman Chris Wood and Francesco Molinari, of Italy, to close to within one of Fisher's 12-under-par total.

Wood's 66 was matched only by Richard Bland as the best round of the day. "I was hitting really, really nice shots, and the putts," he said. "That's given me a lot of confidence and it's sort of gone through the rest of my game and I've given myself half a chance." The Italian Molinari, meanwhile, turned in a one-under-par 34 after scoring a birdie on the par-five seventh for the third day in succession.

Ben Leong shot a four-under-par 67 to claim a share of the lead at the end of the third round at the Brunei Open. The Malaysian went out in 31 following five birdies and one bogey before one more of each saw him finish 12-under and level with Siddikur, the Bangladesh golfer, who bogeyed the last to sign off for a round of 70. "I putted amazingly on the front nine but the conditions started to get really hot and the wind was blowing strongly," Leong said.

* Agencies