Argentina's Echenique keeps French Open lead

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SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) -- Rafa Echenique of Argentina shot a 1-under 70 Saturday to maintain his lead at the French Open after three rounds.

The 28-year-old Argentine has a one-stroke cushion over Martin Kaymer of Germany with a total score of 11-under 202.

"Just a little nervous today," Echenique said. "On No. 1, I missed a putt from one or two feet. I was not relaxed on the first three holes. But after that, I made long putts on the No. 4 and the No. 5."

Echenique said he tried to follow the advice of a compatriot and friend during the round. Angel Cabrera, who won the U.S. Open in 2007 and the Masters this year, told him: "Just relax, be patient, and don't be mad."

Paul Waring of England carded a 3-under 68 to climb from seventh to third, two strokes off the lead, and one better than his compatriot Seve Benson.

Benson finished his round with a share of fourth with Richard Green of Australia and Peter Hanson of Sweden.

England's Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, four and five strokes back respectively, also remained in contention.

"I didn't miss a fairway, I didn't miss a green so it was pretty flawless," said Poulter, a runner-up at the British Open last year. "Apart from the second shot into the last which I thought was pathetic -- I was already thinking about my lunch which is stupid -- it was pretty clinical."

Echenique was briefly caught by the chasing pack after the turn when he fell into a tie for the lead with Waring and Charl Schwartzel of South Africa at 10 under.

A runner-up at the BMW International Open in Munich last weekend, Echenique started his third round slowly with a bogey on the first hole that cut his overnight lead to one stroke.

Waring, a 24-year-old Englishman ranked No. 130 on the European Tour, hit an approach shot from the rough that landed a few feet from the pin on the sixth and helped him tie Echenique atop the leaderboard at 9 under.

But Echenique regained a two-stroke lead by sinking two straight birdies, including a 6-meter (20-foot) putt on the fourth.

Another bogey from Echenique on the eighth again cut his lead, allowing Schwartzel to pull even at 10 under with two consecutive birdies.

Waring picked up a shot on the 13th to join them but he slipped back to third with a bogey on 14th, the longest hole on the Albatross course.

Schwartzel's run was marred by three bogeys in four holes, dropping the South African to joint seventh place and leaving Echenique in charge.

Of the three players tied for second place after the second round, only Kaymer managed to break par.

Kaymer dropped a shot on his first hole but he played solidly the rest of the way. The European Tour's 2007 rookie of the year from Germany sank two straight birdies -- an approach shot on the sixth that stopped one foot from the cup and a 3-meter (13-foot) birdie putt on the seventh.

"There were a lot of very difficult pins today," Kaymer said. "If you don't really have the right numbers (in terms of distance for the golf clubs) to go for the flag then you should play a little more defensive. And I did that all the time.

"When I didn't have the right number, I played very safe. It was pretty much my strategy for today and it's going to be the same for tomorrow. If I have the right club, I can go for it. If not, play safe."