Six top crowded leaderboard

Six players were tied for the lead after the top contenders were beset by problems in Saturday's third round of the Aa St-Omer Open.

Overnight leader Carl Suneson of Spain, pre-tournament favourite Simon Dyson and his fellow Briton David Geall, who had the best score of the day, Massimo Florioli of Italy, Pasi Purhonen of Finland and Frenchman Jean-Francois Lucquin were tied on three-under-par 210, one stroke ahead of the field.

Suneson, trying to control his swing after taking a year off to rebuild his game, saved par from a tricky position at the last for a two-over-par 73 to give him hope still of a maiden full tour title, along with an 18-month exemption, in his 14th year of trying.

Dyson came the closest to breaking the deadlock but his 15-foot birdie attempt on the last hole rimmed the cup and the ball stayed out as he carded a 70.

At 62nd on the European money-list, Dyson, who led the Asian Open last month for three rounds before folding and finishing second behind Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, is the highest ranked player in France this week.

Now he has chance to make up for the 76 in Shanghai that cost him his chance of a first full European Tour title.

"I'm surprised to be sharing the lead but I feel I'm due a win," said Dyson, who won the 2000 Asian order of merit. "I'm just going to go right at it tomorrow."

While Lucquin, who shot a 69 in front of a sizeable home gallery, is touted as the latest French player to have a good chance for a title, and Florioli, with 69, has finished second twice on the full tour, Geall and Purhonen are rank outsiders.

Geall posted a 67 to set the target and Purhonen soon joined him after a 68.

Another Italian, Alessandro Tadini, also shot 67 to hold seventh place on his own, a stroke off the lead.

Britain's Ian Garbutt made the second albatross (double-eagle) of the European Tour season when he holed his three-wood second shot from 248 yards at the par-five 14th on his way to a 72 but still trailed the lead by nine shots.

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand captured the tour's first albatross of 2004 during the British Masters at Forest of Arden last month.

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