Brian Casey shot a one over 72 as Jeff Hopkins made a nine in a five over 76 to slip well down the leaderboard in the Made in Denmark Challenge – Presented by Ejner Hesse.

Casey made two birdies and three bogeys as he finished the day on level par, 12 strokes behind leader John Hahn of the US, who shot a bogey-free 67 to take a commanding four shot lead.

But Hopkins was undone by a quintuple bogey nine at the second as he fell to tied 68th on six over at Aalborg Golf Klub 

After building up a healthy lead over his nearest challengers, Hahn is confident he can convert his good form into a maiden win on Europe’s top developmental tour.

“I am going to go out and attack the golf course,” said Hahn, whose best result on the 2016 Road to Oman to date was a tied seventh place at the Turkish Airlines Challenge.

“I have played really well the last three days - my second round didn’t really show it I have been hitting the ball nicely.

“I putted really well today. I didn’t hit some great shots coming down the stretch but I hit them good enough and was able to put it in the hole. Bogey-free is always a good feeling.

“I think you have to be positive. You will go into stretches where you are not hitting the ball very well but if you stay patient you can keep on top of things.

“The course record was really nice and I feel as though it was a result of the fact I have played so well lately. I did really well last week in Scotland and have been playing really good the last six or seven weeks – ever since Turkey.

“I feel comfortable with the golf course – my ball striking could do with a little bit of work – but I have been chipping and putting really well so I am looking forward to tomorrow.” 

Looking to catch Hahn tomorrow will be Holland’s Jurrian Van der Vaart, South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli, Germany’s Bernd Ritthammer and Aaron Rai who are all on eight under par after 54 holes.

One shot further back is English amateur Ashton Turner who carded a two under par 69 to reach seven under par overall in his first Challenge Tour event. 

German Sebastian Heisele shot the round of the day, signing for a six under par 65 to propel him 48 places up the leaderboard on moving day in Aalborg.

Scores after round three:

201 J Hahn (USA) 64 70 67,

205 D Frittelli (RSA) 67 68 70, A Rai (Eng) 65 68 72, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 68 71 66, B Ritthammer (Ger) 67 68 70, A Knappe (Ger) 65 70 70,

206 A Rota (Ita) 71 68 67, A Turner (am) (Eng) 65 72 69,

207 P Howard  (Eng) 68 70 69, M Kinhult (Swe) 67 68 72,

208 S Heisele (Ger) 71 72 65, K Eriksson (Swe) 72 66 70, A Björk (Swe) 71 68 69,

209 W Harrold (Eng) 71 69 69, K Samooja (Fin) 71 67 71, M Tullo (Chi) 70 68 71, O Stark (Swe) 66 71 72, W Besseling  (Ned) 70 69 70, E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) 69 70 70,

210 R Roussel  (Fra) 70 67 73, A Bernadet  (Fra) 69 71 70, J Sjöholm (Swe) 74 69 67, J Senior (Eng) 67 67 76, G Porteous (Eng) 72 69 69, M Søgaard  (Den) 71 66 73, R Saxton (Ned) 68 71 71, M Lampert (Ger) 65 72 73,

211 E Johansen  (Nor) 68 72 71, M Rohwer (RSA) 71 69 71, G Piris Mateu (Esp) 70 72 69, J Smith (Eng) 70 70 71, J Dantorp (Swe) 69 72 70, F Fritsch  (Ger) 67 72 72,

212 P Mejow (Ger) 73 68 71, J Guerrier  (Fra) 69 71 72, K Kulokorpi  (Fin) 68 72 72, B Neil (Sco) 70 71 71, D Gaunt (Aus) 69 71 72, M Nixon (Eng) 73 68 71, J Glennemo (Swe) 71 69 72,

213 J Gunder (Den) 70 73 70, Brian Casey (Irl) 69 72 72, M Simonsen  (Den) 71 70 72, P Widegren  (Swe) 72 70 71, C Blomstrand (Swe) 70 72 71, A Hartø  (Den) 73 68 72, R Kellett (Sco) 71 72 70, M Ovesen (Den) 71 70 72,

214 E Dubois (Fra) 70 71 73, G King (Eng) 73 70 71, C Russo (Fra) 73 68 73, E Kofstad (Nor) 68 68 78, J Suri (USA) 70 70 74, P Juel-Berg (Den) 71 69 74, J Cafourek (Cze) 71 72 71, J Wrisdale (Eng) 67 71 76,

215 K Johannessen (Nor) 74 68 73, B Hellgren  (Swe) 72 71 72, M Lafeber (Ned) 72 71 72, M Jonzon (Swe) 73 70 72,

216 E Blom (Swe) 69 74 73, S Brown (Eng) 72 69 75, P Maddy (Eng) 73 70 73, K Estrup (Den) 73 70 73,

217 R Marguery (Fra) 69 74 74, A Snobeck  (Fra) 70 71 76, 

218 C Del Moral (Esp) 69 74 75, 

219 L Nemecz (Aut) 70 72 77, Jeff Hopkins (Irl) 72 71 76, P Tarver-Jones (Eng) 70 69 80, O Bekker (RSA) 68 74 77, D Stewart (Sco) 72 70 77, M Cea (am) (Ita) 72 71 76,

221 G Axell (Swe) 71 72 78, A Joudar (Mar) 73 70 78,

222 M Keskari (Ger) 68 74 80,