Jumeirah Golf Estates ambassador Jeev Milkha Singh tamed the strong winds which continued to cause mayhem on the Heritage course of The London Club to maintain his position on top of The European Open leaderboard.

In glorious sunshine, the crowds continued to pour through the gates of The London Club, with a further 23,600 taking advantage of Leisurecorp’s offer of free tickets, to bring the total attendance after three days close to 60,000.

Singh made up ground during an impressive back nine, which included 4 birdies in his final 6 holes, to claim a share of the lead with Frenchman Christian Cévaër in difficult conditions.

“I just stayed patient out there,” said the Indian star. “I just got aggressive. I took the gamble on the 14th hole. It’s a 3‑wood and they moved the tee up, very tempting ‑ I went for it and I birdied it.

“You basically just want to go out there and stay patient, because if it’s a windy day again tomorrow, it’s tough to judge the right clubs and hold putts. I think the key is stay patient and when you have a birdie chance, try to convert it.”

A chasing pack of some of The European Tour’s brightest stars lie behind the co-leaders and with even bigger crowds expected tomorrow, Singh believes spectators are in for a grandstand finish.

“It is going to be exciting. Christian is playing well. He played right in front of me. It’s great to see a lot of good players. The tournament is not over until the last putt is holed out, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow,” he said.

Chris Wood, who wears the logo of Leisurecorp’s Turnberry resort in Scotland, shares third place after carving out an impressive 68 and will be chasing his first tour victory since he turned pro on the back of his outstanding performance at the 2008 Open.

The 21-year old from Bristol joined The Tour straight after his Birkdale heroics and led on his professional debut in Sweden, but then caught food poisoning and dropped off the pace and has since struggled for form.

“”It’s taken me a while to get going this season. Coming through Tour school I didn’t get into that many events and those I did I was practicing in snow and ice at home and then going out to Indonesia or wherever, where it’s like 40 degrees,” he said.

“I’ve never been to places like that before, and that part of the Tour, that sort of swing was sort of a huge change for me. I think I struggled a little bit to get used to it. But since I got back to Europe, the last couple of months, I felt like I’ve settled in much better.”

Despite struggling with his game, the 6ft 5in Englishman has not dropped a shot on the fearsome 471-yard 18th and will be looking to his Birkdale experience to keep the nerves at bay.

“I’m not thinking about winning yet. I’ve just got to keep doing the same thing that I’ve been doing mentally this week. I think The Open will be something to look back on, and obviously I felt like I was in contention there going into the last day, and they don’t get any bigger than The Open,” he said.

Rory McIlroy produced a superb four-under-par 68 to charge right into contention from 25th place overnight. The 20-year-old Northern Irishman led from the front to win the Dubai Desert Classic at the start of the year, but will have to come from behind if he is to claim his second victory in The Race to Dubai.

“It was a little different in Dubai. I led going into the last round and then started off with three birdies in a row, so sort of had a bit of a lead,” he said

“It would be great to come from a couple behind to win, but you’ve just got to go out there, and it’s another round of golf and another opportunity to shoot a good score. If I can shoot another good score, I know I’ll have a very good chance to win. So, yeah, just got to go out and do it.”

Fellow rising star Alvaro Quiros, who carded a 69 to join McIlroy and Wood on 6-under par, believes that with some of the most exciting talents in European golf sitting pretty on the leaderboard, and the hottest day of the year predicted, another thrilling day is in store for the huge crowds expected at The London Club tomorrow.

“Rory is near the top of the leaderboard and it’s nothing new,” said the Spaniard. “In my case I’m learning to be over there, too, and Chris Wood? He’s new, so I don’t know how he will react, but I’ve seen him have some good tournaments. Yeah, it could be a good final round.”

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