WOBURN, England – England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick shot a 3-under 68 Saturday to maintain his place atop the British Masters leaderboard after the third round, but was joined in the lead by Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Fitzpatrick has led since day one, while Kiradech shot a flawless 67 to join him on a 12-under total of 201.

The 21-year-old Fitzpatrick is pursuing his maiden victory in his first full season on The European Tour, while Kiradech has already won twice this season, at the Shenzhen International and the Paul Lawrie Match Play.

“I made a lot of putts on the front nine but the iron play was not as sharp,” Kiradech said. “I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow. If you keep the ball in play on the fairways, you can keep the score low.”

As for Fitzpatrick, he wants to land his first tournament title with a wire-to-wire victory.

“Some great names have won wire-to-wire and it would be nice to add mine to that,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was obviously something in the back of my mind but I’m just bothered about hopefully playing good golf and we’ll see.”

Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen started the day tied for the lead with Fitzpatrick but a 69 dropped him to third alongside Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, one shot behind the leaders.

England’s Luke Donald carded the round of the day with a 65 to rise 28 places. The former top-ranked Donald is tied for fifth on 9 under and is looking for his first victory on the European Tour since the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2012.

“I felt I was hitting the ball really well,” Donald said. “It is always nice to keep a five off the scorecard. I put myself in great positions. I’d love to go out there and shoot another round like this, I think that might be good enough.

“I would just like to win any tournament to be honest, but it would be a little more special in the U.K.”

Bridgestone Invitational winner Shane Lowry is also in contention on the same score as Donald after shooting 69.

WOBURN, England – Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen joined England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick at the top of the British Masters leaderboard on Friday after both reached a 9-under total of 133 at the halfway stage.

Kjeldsen, who won the Irish Open earlier this year, made a 3-under 68 in his second round, while Fitzpatrick, the sole leader on day one, shot a 2-under 69.

Kjeldsen holed out from a greenside bunker 40 yards from the flag on the third hole, a par-4, which was his highlight of the round.

“It was not stress-free today,” Kjeldsen said. “I got off to a slow start and didn’t make the putts, then I hit a bad second shot on three and found the bunker but holed it.

“I focus on the sound when the club hits the sand. Straight away I felt I had a lovely sound to the shot and I managed to get up on the hill and watch it disappear.”

The 21-year-old Fitzpatrick again birdied 17 and 18 to maintain his first-place position on the leaderboard.

“It was pretty tough out there today for me, I didn’t feel like I hit it my best,” Fitzpatrick said. “I scored well coming in to shoot 69 and stay at the top.”

Fitzpatrick is chasing his first professional victory on the European Tour but is primarily focused on improving his world ranking of 111.

“I wouldn’t say it is something I am concentrating on (a first win), it is more one hole and one round at a time,” Fitzpatrick said. “If the one doesn’t come this week, but I keep moving up the world rankings, that is good enough for me.”

England’s Richard Bland, who needed treatment on the course for a back injury, is a shot behind, alongside Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Bridgestone Invitational winner Shane Lowry, of Ireland, is also in contention going into the weekend. He is two shots off the lead with 135.

“I’m pretty happy, I could have been a few shots better but I am in a good position going into the weekend,” Lowry said. “The two par-fives on the back nine were my front nine today and I didn’t make birdie, which is a little bit annoying.”

Tournament host Ian Poulter is five shots behind on a 4-under total of 138.

WOBURN, England – England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied his final two holes to card a seven-under par round of 64 and lead by one stroke after the first day of the British Masters at Woburn on Thursday.

Fitzpatrick made six birdies and an eagle in his opening round to edge ahead of Marc Warren, Lee Slattery, Soren Kjeldsen and Robert Karlsson, who all shot a 65.

“It doesn’t get better than that,” Fitzpatrick. “I think tee to green, it is pretty tough. If you don’t hit it in the fairway, the rough isn’t deep but it is quite wet, so it clings. It is difficult to get it to the full, normal distance of your irons.”

The 21-year-old Fitzpatrick won the 2013 U.S Amateur Championship as well as taking the silver medal in the British Open at Muirfield later that year for finishing tied 44th, the highest placed rookie.

His first professional appearance was at last year’s Irish Open but he had to rely on invites to compete in the remainder of the European Tour’s events. He secured his card at Qualifying School in Spain in November for his first full campaign.

This season, Fitzpatrick has already recorded five top-five finishes, including second at the European Masters in Switzerland in July, and his prize money for the year stands at 681,640 euros ($770,882). But he is still seeking his first victory.

“I missed quite a few cuts in a row at the start of the year even though I felt like I was playing all right,” Fitzpatrick said. “Now, I’ve played decent and I’m getting the results I have been looking for. I have been getting so much experience, week-to-week learning more about myself and about tournaments and that has been the biggest thing.”

Bridgestone Invitational winner Shane Lowry is two shots behind Fitzpatrick following a five-under 66, alongside Irish compatriot Padraig Harrington.

Ian Poulter, who is hosting the tournament at his home course, had to overcome some tension caused by his extra responsibilities before his three-under 68.

“I felt nervous on the first tee today, on the 10th, and that is a feeling I haven’t had for a little while,” Poulter said. “But it was nice feeling. I was pretty pumped last night, I was excited and I could not drop off to sleep. Coming out today and seeing everyone on the course, it was a great day.”

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Thorbjorn Olesen overcame a shaky start Sunday to protect his overnight lead and win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by two shots.

Olesen had a double bogey on the second hole and a bogey on the third but recovered for a 1-under 71 at St. Andrews to hold off a late charge by Brooks Koepka of the United States.

Koepka shot a 67 to finish tied for second with fellow American Chris Stroud (68). Olesen, who entered the final round with a three-shot lead, finished with an 18-under total of 270.

The Dane earned his third European Tour title after showing his mastery of links courses, having finished runner-up here in 2012. The tournament is spread over St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie over the first three rounds.

“It’s been a very tough year and standing here with this trophy is unbelievable,” said Olesen, who missed three months of the season after hand surgery. “It was nice this week just to play three great rounds of golf – the first three – and keep it together in this last round.”

Koepka looked set to challenge Olesen when he picked up three straight birdies from the ninth, but lost his momentum with a bogey on the 13th. After another birdie on 14, he finished with four straight pars.

“I am pretty pleased,” Koepka said. “Overall I played pretty well but just came up a little bit short.”

Stroud needed a birdie on the 18th to tie for second.

“I can’t imagine anything better than this,” Stroud said. “I would take that score on any tournament, so at the original place of golf, right here in the Home of Golf, this is pretty special.”

Chris Wood of England was among five players tied for fourth, another shot back, after a 65.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark took a three-shot lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Saturday after a 7-under 65 at St. Andrews in the third round.

Olesen started with a bogey on the first hole but then had eight birdies the rest of the way – including four on the last five holes – for a 17-under 199 total.

“I started off badly by hitting it in the water on the first but I got over it and played some good golf,” Olesen said. “My putter started to get very hot out there and I holed a lot of great putts. So yeah, it was good fun.”

Florian Fritsch of Germany was second after a 64 at Kingsbarns, with Benjamin Hebert of France another shot back after a 67 at Carnoustie. The players alternated between the three courses on the first three days, with the final round held at St. Andrews.

Fritsch had six birdies and an eagle in his bogey-free round. After starting on the 10th tee, he eagled the par-5 third hole and had three birdies on the next four.

“I hit a couple of good putts and ended up rolling in a few birdies and an eagle,” the German said. “That was a little extra.”

Jimmy Mullen, who held a share of the overnight lead, could only manage a 74 at Carnoustie to plummet down the leaderboard.

Ernie Els, who scuffed a putt from less than a foot out in the first round, continued his resurgence with a 66 at St. Andrews to sit in a tie for eighth, six shots back.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Jimmy Mullen and Anthony Wall shared a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday.

Overnight co-leader Mullen, who is making his professional debut, added a 3-under 69 at St. Andrews to his opening 64 at Kingsbarns to finish on 11-under 133 alongside fellow Englishman Wall.

The tournament is split between three courses, with players alternating between St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.

“I’m just out there trying to enjoy it and learn really, and to be top of the leaderboard I can’t really explain it,” said Mullen, who had five birdies and two bogeys on the Old Course. “I’m still a bit like, ‘There’s (Martin) Kaymer’ and other people like that.”

The 21-year-old Mullen turned professional after contributing four points to September’s Walker Cup victory over the United States, becoming the first Britain and Ireland player to compile a perfect 4-0 record since Paul Casey and Luke Donald in 1999.

Wall shot a 4-under 68 at St. Andrews with seven birdies and three bogeys.

One shot behind Mullen and Wall is Ireland’s Paul Dunne (70), experienced Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson (65), Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen (66) and American Chris Stroud (66).

The lowest rounds of the day came at Kingsbarns, where Bradley Dredge and Kiradech Aphibarnrat both shot 9-under 63 to finish 8 and 6 under, respectively.

That represented an improvement of 10 shots on his opening round at Carnoustie for 42-year-old Welshman Dredge.

“I’ve been playing golf a long time and haven’t got a clue anymore,” said Dredge, who carded two eagles and five birdies in a flawless round.

Defending champion Oliver Wilson could only card a second consecutive 74 to lie 4 over.

Richard T. Lee of Toronto sits T102 after a second-round 4-under 68 performance.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Jimmy Mullen and Paul Dunne both marked their professional debuts with an 8-under 64 to grab a share of the lead after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Mullen and Dunne went pro after helping Britain and Ireland beat the United States in the Walker Cup last month but looked like seasoned veterans at Kingsbarns. Dunne started with a bogey on the 10th hole, but then had a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th to get his round going. He added another six birdies, including three straight from the second.

“I kind of needed it,” the Irishman said of his ace. “I got off to a bit of a ropey start.”

Mullen, a 21-year-old Englishman had a similar round which also contained eight birdies and an eagle to go with two bogeys at Kingsbarns. They were tied with Kristoffer Broberg of Sweden, who had eight birdies in a flawless round at St. Andrews. The tournament is split between three courses, with players alternating between St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.

“I’ve been looking forward to getting started as a pro for a while,” Dunne said. “No better place to do it than on a links-style course like this.”

Kingsbarns saw 12 of the 15 lowest scores on the opening day, while Martin Kaymer had the joint-best round at Carnoustie with a 68.

Soeren Kjeldsen, Richard Bland and Anthony Wall were in a tie for fourth, a shot behind the leaders.

Defending champion Oliver Wilson had only managed a 74 at St. Andrews

BAD GRIESBACH, Germany – Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand shot a bogey-free 67 to win the European Open by one shot on Sunday.

Jaidee, the overnight leader, had four birdies to add to his rounds of 68, 68 and 64 for a 17-under 267 on the Bad Griesbach course in southeastern Germany.

“It is the third time I have won outside of Asia, so I’m very excited about that,” Jaidee said after claiming his seventh European Tour title. “I didn’t make many mistakes this week – only one bogey all week. I played very nicely and 17 under is some score for me.”

The 45-year-old Jaidee became the oldest player to win the European Open since Colin Montgomerie in 2007 at age 44.

Graeme Storm of England had five birdies in his round of 67 to finish second with a 16-under score of 268.

Pelle Edberg of Sweden was third at 14 under after a mixed round of 69 with four bogeys and six birdies.

Veteran golfer Bernhard Langer carded a 69 to finish as the highest placed German at 8 under.

“I hit some of the best shots I have ever hit,” the 58-year-old Langer said. “I just couldn’t make the putts … Putting is a big part of the game, but my putter was ice cold this week.”

Langer won the European Open in 1985 and 1995.

Toronto’s Albin Choi finished the competition 4-over 288 in 65th place.

BAD GRIESBACH, Germany – Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand carded a 7-under 64 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of the European Open.

Jaidee had eight birdies and a bogey to add to his two rounds of 68. He climbed 14 places for a 13-under total of 200 in southeastern Germany.

Pelle Edberg of Sweden and England’s Ross Fisher and Graeme Storm were all a shot back at 12 under, while Jamie Donaldson of Wales, Magnus A Carlsson of Sweden and Mikko Ilonen of Finland were tied for fifth at 11 under.

Peter Uihlein of the United States and Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen were both 10 under, while veteran Bernhard Langer shot 70 and is tied for 31st.

An even-par performance on the day has Toronto’s Albin Choi T55 at 3-under.

BAD GRIESBACH, Germany – Benjamin Hebert of France and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria shared the lead at seven-under-par after the opening day of the European Open on Thursday.

Hebert fired eight birdies on the Bad Griesbach course and had a bogey on the seventh to finish the day at 64. Wiesberger had seven birdies and no bogeys to tie for the lead.

Two Englishmen had a share of third place at six-under. Graeme Storm shot six birdies in his opening round and Richard Bland opened his round by carding birdies in each of his first four holes.

Also at six-under were Richard Green of Australia, Darren Fichardt of South Africa and Richard Finch of England.

A group of 11 golfers followed at five-under, including German veteran Bernhard Langer.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi completed the day at 1-under 70 to sit T74.