Els, runner-up in the Masters Tournament last week, shot a third round 68 to move to six under par 207 and six shots adrift of leader Americn Ted Purdy, who shot a six under par 65 for a 54 hole total of 12 under par 201 to lead compatriot Heath Slocum by four strokes.

England's Rose and Northern Ireland's Clarke are among a group of four golfers tied for ninth place. Rose continued to power up the leaderboard after adding a five under par 66 to earlier scores of 73 and 69 but Clarke slipped back from fourth at halfway after a 71.

Open Champion Ben Curtis dropped back to four under par after a 75.          

Courtesy of www.europeantour.com