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Wiesberger leads Portugal Masters by one over Fisher after second 65 in row

By PA Sport
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Wiesberger leads Portugal Masters by one over Fisher after second 65 in row

VILAMOURA, Portugal -- Bernd Wiesberger of Austria shot his second successive 65 on Saturday and leads the Portugal Masters by one with a round to play.

England's Ross Fisher had been three clear at halfway, but could not keep the 27-year-old from Vienna at bay as he continued his search for a third victory of the season.

Even when Fisher, without a win since his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, had four birdies in five holes around the turn, Wiesberger matched them all to stay one behind. He then drew level with an 18-foot putt on the 14th -- his sixth birdie in seven holes -- and moved in front for the first time when Fisher could not get up and down after missing the final green.

"After seven holes (all pars) I was not thinking about a 65, but then I played beautifully," said Wiesberger, who stands 13 under par. "It could have been a bit lower, but I'm very happy with that."

Fisher is playing with a strained ligament in his left foot suffered when he slipped coming off the first tee in his second round.

"It's challenging, but it was a lot easier than yesterday," he said after a third-round 69. "It was heavily bandaged and I tried to take the weight off it as much as I could. It's quite bruised, but the swelling is not as bad as I told it might be.

"I'm disappointed to drop a shot on the last," he added. "I tried to keep my neck out in front, but there's still a lot of golf to play."

Tied for third on 9 under are Irishman Shane Lowry, England's Richard Finch and, in a sudden return to form, New Zealander Michael Campbell.

Campbell, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, has had a wretched time since that memorable week at Pinehurst and is down at 607th in the world. He hasn’t had a top-10 finish on the European Tour since 2008 and two seasons ago made only one cut in 19 starts.

"It's seven years since my last win and I was surprised I was calm out there, but I've won enough around the world to know what to do and I'm pretty excited about tomorrow," he said. "The last three or four years I've put too much pressure on myself to perform. I've gone back to basics and it's fun once again."

He and playing partner Lowry were both 5 under for the day before bogeying the last for 67s, while Finch -- like Lowry a former Irish Open winner – didn’t drop a shot in his 66.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, at 48 trying to become the oldest winner in European Tour history, finished with a 30-foot birdie putt for a 68 and is tied for sixth with England's Mark Foster. Padraig Harrington also birdied the difficult last, but that was for a 71 as he slipped from fourth to 12th.