Kapur moves to tied fourth at Trophee Hassan II golf

Agadir (Morocco): Shiv Kapur overcame his blues on the front nine and turned in a five-under 67 that catapulted him to tied fourth after the third round of the Trophee Hassan II golf here. Kapur is now eight-under for three days but as many as nine shots behind the runaway leader, Alejandro Canizares (69) at Golf du Palais Royal.

India`s other challenger Gaganjeet Bhullar continued his downward spiral after a great opening round. After a first day 67, he has had 73 and 74 on next two days and is now tied 38th. While Kapur had six birdies and just one bogey on front nine, Bhullar after a nightmarish start of double and a triple bogey on the first two holes, recovered on the back nine with two birdies an eagle on par-5 17th. Kapur had three birdies on each stretch and just one bogey on fourth. Canizares takes a huge six-shot lead into the final round of the Trophee Hasan II as he chases a first European Tour title for eight years. A third round of 69 was enough for Canizares to extend his overnight lead from one shot to six over playing partner Seve Benson of England. Kapur`s round of 67 was the joint best of the day and he was ecstatic with his showing on the front nine, where he had a tough time on first two days. "It was nice to play the front nine for a change. The first two days I played the back nine really well and then struggled my way around the front. I got off to a good start though the conditions were a bit tricky with the way the pins were. You got to take the medicine and the play to the heart of the green," he said. He added, "I definitely take the position that I am in now after being four over for the first eight (in the first round) and it looked like an early flight home. And now here I am at eight-under par and in the thick of things. I cant really complain." Speaking on Canizares being way ahead of the field at 17-under, Kapur said: "There`s rally nothing I can do, especially on a golf course like this, where you have to play percentages. The set up, the way around it; it`s a little bit like a Major where the pins are tucked and near the water and near bunkers and like that. "Sometimes even 70-80 yards out you are playing 20-30 feet to the left or the right of the flag. So you cant really push and force things. You take what you get. You don`t hope for anything bad for the leaders, but you just hope the leaders falter and you take your chance from there. "I really like this course and have been coming here from the time it started. The way the set up is it is brilliant. The green complex is fantastic, it makes you think. It is not like target practice and I like it." Canizares` only previous European Tour victory came in the Russian Open in 2006 on only his third start. Asked if he felt the tournament was now his to lose, Canizares added: "In this game anything can happen. Everybody saw that you can go low on this golf course, I have to keep moving forward and not look over my shoulder." The three-time Challenge Tour champion Benson, who carded a round of 74 to slip back to 11 under par, will now need to make up a six shot deficit if he is to secure his maiden European Tour title. Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen a further stroke back after his 67, which was the only bogey-free round of the day.