European Masters: Matt Wallace retains lead in ‘brutal’ conditions

England’s Matt Wallace retained his four-shot European Masters lead in difficult conditions in the third round in Switzerland.

Winds of 35mph blasted the Crans-sur-Sierre club to send scores soaring.

Wallace birdied the last to complete a three-over round of 73 – 11 more than he shot on Friday – which left him on 11 under.

Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia is his nearest challenger, four behind.

“Where do I start?” Wallace told Sky Sports when asked to assess the difficulty of the conditions. “Brutal, hard. Really hard.”

England’s Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston and Swede Henrik Norlander are a further shot back in joint third.

Wallace had been bogey-free in his first two rounds but endured six bogeys on Saturday as the wind hit scoring.

Italy’s Edoardo Molinari – who is tied fifth, six shots off the pace – was one of only three players to finish under par on the day.

England’s Jordan Smith fell nine shots off the lead following a 77 which included a two-shot penalty for taking an incorrect drop on the par-five 12th.

That turned a bogey six into a triple-bogey eight and Smith also dropped four shots over the closing three holes