British Masters Round 3 Leaderboard: Matt Fitzpatrick leads Alex Noren by one

Matt Fitzpatrick carded a steady third-round 68 to take a one-shot lead into the final round at the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry.

Fitzpatrick, 30, made four birdies and an eagle during a round of 4-under 68 on Saturday that vaulted him up to 12-under par. 

The Englishman is seeking a second British Masters title having won his first in 2015 at Woburn. 

Fitzpatrick is also going in search of a 10th DP World Tour title.

It will be no easy task for the 2022 US Open champion with Sweden's Alex Noren breathing down his neck.

Noren posted a brilliant 65 to move to 11-under par. 

Fitzpatrick is incredibly playing golf at The Belfry for the first time in his life this week.

He started the week in 12th position on the European Ryder Cup team standings so was not able to force his way into the automatics.

But Fitzpatrick has proven his class to captain Luke Donald this week and looks assured of earning one of his six picks on the team. 

"Yeah, I would hope so," Fitzpatrick replied when asked if he thinks he's done enough to earn a captain's pick.

"Last week Luke asked me to come after a conversation we had last weekend, and given where my head was at in the schedule, trying to chase my PGA Tour top 50. 

"So, yeah, it's obviously the goal when I entered here was to come here and make a case for myself as well. So you know, three good rounds so far, and hopefully can carry that on tomorrow."

Donald will make his six picks on Monday 1 September.

Noren is likely going to miss out regardless whether he wins the British Masters. 

The highlight of Fitzpatrick's third round was a chip-in eagle on the par-5 15th.

England's Marco Penge surged up the board with a joint course-record 63 to move into a tie for third on 10-under par alongside Nicolai Hojgaard.

Another win for Penge, who of course won in Denmark last week, would go a long way for his chances of a debut appearance on Donald's team. 

Hojgaard will likely miss out on a pick even if he wins this Sunday, but who knows how Donald feels since Nicolai was on his 2023 winning team. 

His twin brother Rasmus Hojgaard is on the verge of picking up the sixth and final automatic spot on the Ryder Cup team. 

Hojgaard just needs a top-29 finish.

He's currently tied 14th on 7-under par and two shots clear of the top 30.