Thornton moves two clear in Madeira

Irishman Simon Thornton extended his lead to two shots after five holes of his third round at the Madeira Islands Open.

Thornton birdied the 539-yard par-five third to go to eight under overall, with four players – Northern Irishman Michael Hoey, England’s Chris Gane, Francois Delamontagne of France and Portugal’s Ricardo Santos – tied for second at six under.

Hoey picked up shots at the third and the seventh at Porto Santo, while Santos was on course for the round of the day after getting to seven under par through 14 holes.

Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth was sixth at five under par and was one under through seven holes today, one ahead of Englishman Jamie Elson, who was one over for the day having played six holes.

Portugal’s Jose Filipe Lima was one of the early starters and he finished with a three-under-par 69 to go to two under overall, currently good enough for a share of 10th place.