Ballyliffin's Brendan McCarroll had three double bogeys in a one over 72 to go into the final round of the Alps Tour Colli Berici event three strokes adrift of his strapping Norwegian room-mate Stian Hansen.

As McCarroll ended the day tied for fourth on four under, 26-year old Hansen — who is 6'3" and weighs nearly 16 stones — stood firm in strong winds to fire miraculous 66 in Vincenza to lead by a shot from Italy's Alessio Bruschi and Spain's Borja Etchart. Scores

“I am not the kind of player to shout or to be upset on a golf course," the Norwegian told the Alps Tour website. "I would rather talk to myself inside of my head to stay calm, I am definitively a calm player.

"The wind was a big factor today. You need to try to get into wedge distances to get close but it is hard when the wind is strong like this. But I had a lot of chance when I had the wedge in my hand and I make a lot of birdies. And I holed a long putt on hole 11 so that was good to start with this.

"I had a couple of wins in Norway but nothing big and not in a three-round tournament. Tomorrow, I just need to be sharp of the tee, be focused. People are going to make bogeys, event double bogeys. You just need to forget your shots and keep on going forward. I hope I can roll enough putts to get a win.”

Headfort's Brian Casey bogeyed his final hole to shoot 73 and miss the six over par cut by one with Simon Ward a shot further back after a 74