Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark put himself in contention for his second European Tour title on Friday by taking a three-stroke lead over Sweden's Rikard Karlberg in the third round of the Austrian Open.
Olesen, who won his maiden title at the Sicilian Open in April, hit four birdies for a 4-under 68 and was 16 under overall. Karlberg improved to 13 under with a 66 thanks to four birdies on his last six holes.
''I didn't hit the ball as well I did the first two days ... I could have taken a few more,'' Olesen said. ''There was no wind at all so it was a perfect day for scoring.''
Four players were another stroke back to share third — Richard Bland of England, Thomas Levet of France, Bernd Wiesberger of Austria and Benjamin Hebert of France.
Hebert, who is without a top-30 finish this season, shot an 8-under par 64 to become the third player at this event after Olesen and Pablo Larrazabal of Spain to equal the course record.
Defending champion Kenneth Ferrie of England hit a 70 to finish on 213 after three rounds, 13 strokes off the lead.
The second round, which was suspended because of lightning on Thursday, was completed in the morning. Jose Manuel Lara of Spain, who won here two years ago, was 4-over 148 and missed the cut.
