Turkish Airlines Open 2018 - Round 3

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Li Haotong opened up a three-shot lead over Justin Rose and Alexander Levy heading into the final round.
Posted on
November 3, 2018
by
The Editorial Team in ,
Estimated reading time: 42 minutes

European Tour

Turkish Airlines Open 2018

November 01-04

Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Turkey

US$7,000,000

Live Leaderboard

November 01-04

Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Turkey

US$7,000,000

Live Leaderboard

Round 3

Li three clear after sensational eagle in Turkey

Round 1

Round 2

Round 4

Round 1

Round 2

Round 4

November 03, 2018

Li Haotong shot a stunning round of 63 to get to 17 under par and open up a three-shot lead over Justin Rose and Alexander Levy heading into the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open, the sixth Rolex Series event of the 2018 season.

- Matthew Harris / TGPL

The Chinese star began the day three shots behind overnight leader and defending champion Rose, but turned that deficit on its head as he ignited his eight under par round with a chip-in for birdie at the ninth hole followed by a superlative hole-out at the par four tenth, out of the rough from 173 yards, for an eagle two.

“That was quite a special moment for myself at the tenth, and the second shot was like 173 yards, with eight-iron. I tried to hit a high fade, which I did, but it was a little bit of a flyer lie and finished pin-high, which is a little long, but luckily from the top it rolled in."

“I saw my name at the top of the leaderboard, it was quite exciting at that time. I start thinking, if I make a couple birdies, it's going to be perfect for tomorrow, but to finish like that is good enough for me."

Li held off the challenge of four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy to win in Dubai earlier in the season and would become the first Asian player to triumph in a Rolex Series event if he goes on to claim his third European Tour title on Sunday.

“I have definitely got a lot of confidence from Dubai," said Li, "and since then, I've been playing a lot of big events, which has built my confidence. It's going to be an exciting day tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to going up against Rosey.”

World Number Two Rose battled to a round of 69 at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, dropping into a share of second place after finding the water on three occasions during the round, including on the 18 th hole for a closing bogey.

“I struggled with my focus today I felt, and my concentration, and I made a couple questionable decisions out there. Yeah, little simple things like the last hole, really. I knew five-wood was probably the right club off the tee but I knew it was a tougher pin and sort of tried to force the issue a little bit, because three-wood ran out into the bunkers today."

“At the par fives, and maybe at the 15 th again, it was just slightly impatient decisions. But it was maybe just a little bit of tiredness, I don't know, but the focus today was probably the biggest difference."

“I think it's the same situation I was in last year. I was two back last year. To this point it's all water under the bridge, isn't it. So you just have to come out tomorrow like I did today and play well.”

Frenchman Levy, who won his sixth European Tour title earlier this season at the Trophée Hassan II, carded an impressive bogey-free round of 66 to move to 14 under par alongside Englishman Rose and sit one shot clear of 2016 champion, Denmark's Thorbjørn Olesen, and two shots ahead of English pair Sam Horsfield and Danny Willett.

“I think I played good golf today," said Levy. "I really enjoyed it, I really enjoyed hitting the shots. I holed some nice putts and that was the most pleased things I did today."

“I practice hard. I want to be on the top, so I just need patience and I think that will be the key. I feel good, but expectation with this game, it's a very difficult game, so you need to be patient, and for sure the putting helped to build a good score."

“I like the golf course. I like to play aggressive. For sure tomorrow, I will need a low one, but I will stay patient and try my best.”

The 2017 Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood and South African Thomas Aiken are one shot further back at 11 under, while England's Tom Lewis and Dane Lucas Bjerregaard – both winners on the European Tour this season – are at ten under par alongside Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Pos.
Player
Nat
To Par
R1
R2
R3
Total
1
Haotong Li
CHN
-17
66
67
63
196
T2
Alexander Levy
FRA
-14
67
66
66
199
T2
Justin Rose
ENG
-14
65
65
69
199
4
Thorbjorn Olesen
DEN
-13
65
67
68
200
T5
Danny Willett
ENG
-12
67
65
69
201
T5
Sam Horsfield
ENG
-12
66
67
68
201
T7
Thomas Aiken
RSA
-11
71
65
66
202
T7
Tommy Fleetwood
ENG
-11
68
66
68
202
T9
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
THA
-10
66
70
67
203
T9
Lucas Bjerregaard
DNK
-10
70
67
66
203
T9
Tom Lewis
ENG
-10
69
63
71
203
T12
Adrian Otaegui
ESP
-9
68
65
71
204
T12
Darren Fichardt
RSA
-9
68
68
68
204
T12
Jason Scrivener
AUS
-9
67
67
70
204
T12
Martin Kaymer
GER
-9
66
69
69
204
T12
Paul Dunne
IRL
-9
64
71
69
204
T12
Thomas Detry
BEL
-9
66
70
68
204
T18
Chris Paisley
ENG
-8
67
69
69
205
T18
Dean Burmester
RSA
-8
72
65
68
205
T18
Joost Luiten
NED
-8
70
66
69
205
T18
Julian Suri
USA
-8
67
68
70
205
T18
Matthias Schwab
AUT
-8
69
69
67
205
T18
Nicolas Colsaerts
BEL
-8
69
66
70
205
T18
Pablo Larrazabal
ESP
-8
68
69
68
205
T18
Russell Knox
SCO
-8
70
66
69
205
T18
Shane Lowry
IRL
-8
68
70
67
205
T18
Tapio Pulkkanen
FIN
-8
68
70
67
205
T28
Andy Sullivan
ENG
-7
72
68
66
206
T28
Padraig Harrington
IRL
-7
65
70
71
206
T28
Thomas Pieters
BEL
-7
75
69
62
206
T31
Alexander Bjoerk
SWE
-6
73
69
65
207
T31
Andrea Pavan
ITA
-6
68
75
64
207
T31
Andrew Johnston
ENG
-6
71
70
66
207
T31
Hideto Tanihara
JPN
-6
72
64
71
207
T31
Michael Lorenzo-Vera
FRA
-6
70
65
72
207
T31
Wade Ormsby
AUS
-6
70
68
69
207
T37
Ashun Wu
CHI
-5
66
71
71
208
T37
Marcus Kinhult
SWE
-5
70
70
68
208
T37
Matt Wallace
ENG
-5
67
70
71
208
T37
Ryan Fox
NZL
-5
69
71
68
208
T41
Lee Slattery
ENG
-4
70
70
69
209
T41
Lucas Herbert
AUS
-4
73
68
68
209
T41
Renato Paratore
ITA
-4
73
66
70
209
T44
Gavin Green
MAS
-3
67
70
73
210
T44
Jorge Campillo
ESP
-3
72
69
69
210
T44
Mikko Korhonen
FIN
-3
74
71
65
210
T44
Robert Rock
ENG
-3
73
68
69
210
T48
Aaron Rai
ENG
-2
71
71
69
211
T48
Ashley Chesters
ENG
-2
72
69
70
211
T48
Erik Van Rooyen
RSA
-2
67
71
73
211
T48
Joakim Lagergren
SWE
-2
72
69
70
211
T48
Richard Sterne
RSA
-2
74
69
68
211
T53
George Coetzee
RSA
-1
70
70
72
212
T53
Lee Westwood
ENG
-1
66
72
74
212
T53
Shubhankar Sharma
IND
-1
70
72
70
212
T53
Soren Kjeldsen
DEN
-1
71
68
73
212
T53
Stephen Gallacher
SCO
-1
70
71
71
212
T53
Trevor Immelman
RSA
-1
72
71
69
212
T59
Jens Dantorp
SWE
Par
72
71
70
213
T59
Jordan Smith
ENG
Par
74
71
68
213
T59
Matthieu Pavon
FRA
Par
73
71
69
213
T59
Thomas Bjorn
DEN
Par
73
69
71
213
T63
Brandon Stone
RSA
1
74
70
70
214
T63
Maximilian Kieffer
GER
1
70
74
70
214
T63
Richard McEvoy
ENG
1
75
71
68
214
T63
Scott Hend
AUS
1
73
74
67
214
T67
Alvaro Quiros
ESP
2
69
73
73
215
T67
Nacho Elvira
ESP
2
71
72
72
215
T67
Jeung-Hun Wang
KOR
2
70
71
74
215
T67
Ross Fisher
ENG
2
72
75
68
215
T71
Benjamin Hebert
FRA
3
71
69
76
216
T71
Matthew Southgate
ENG
3
78
70
68
216
T71
Oliver Fisher
ENG
3
71
74
71
216
T71
Paul Waring
ENG
3
75
71
70
216
T75
Ali Altuntas
TUR
6
74
69
76
219
T75
Julien Guerrier
FRA
6
77
69
73
219
77
Taner Yamac
TUR
15
78
79
71
228
78
Leon Acikalin
TUR
25
74
79
85
238
Pos.
Player
Nat
To Par
R3
Total
1
Haotong Li
CHN
-17
63
196
T2
Alexander Levy
FRA
-14
66
199
T2
Justin Rose
ENG
-14
69
199
4
Thorbjorn Olesen
DEN
-13
68
200
T5
Danny Willett
ENG
-12
69
201
T5
Sam Horsfield
ENG
-12
68
201
T7
Thomas Aiken
RSA
-11
66
202
T7
Tommy Fleetwood
ENG
-11
68
202
T9
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
THA
-10
67
203
T9
Lucas Bjerregaard
DNK
-10
66
203
T9
Tom Lewis
ENG
-10
71
203
T12
Adrian Otaegui
ESP
-9
71
204
T12
Darren Fichardt
RSA
-9
68
204
T12
Jason Scrivener
AUS
-9
70
204
T12
Martin Kaymer
GER
-9
69
204
T12
Paul Dunne
IRL
-9
69
204
T12
Thomas Detry
BEL
-9
68
204
T18
Chris Paisley
ENG
-8
69
205
T18
Dean Burmester
RSA
-8
68
205
T18
Joost Luiten
NED
-8
69
205
T18
Julian Suri
USA
-8
70
205
T18
Matthias Schwab
AUT
-8
67
205
T18
Nicolas Colsaerts
BEL
-8
70
205
T18
Pablo Larrazabal
ESP
-8
68
205
T18
Russell Knox
SCO
-8
69
205
T18
Shane Lowry
IRL
-8
67
205
T18
Tapio Pulkkanen
FIN
-8
67
205
T28
Andy Sullivan
ENG
-7
66
206
T28
Padraig Harrington
IRL
-7
71
206
T28
Thomas Pieters
BEL
-7
62
206
T31
Alexander Bjoerk
SWE
-6
65
207
T31
Andrea Pavan
ITA
-6
64
207
T31
Andrew Johnston
ENG
-6
66
207
T31
Hideto Tanihara
JPN
-6
71
207
T31
Michael Lorenzo-Vera
FRA
-6
72
207
T31
Wade Ormsby
AUS
-6
69
207
T37
Ashun Wu
CHI
-5
71
208
T37
Marcus Kinhult
SWE
-5
68
208
T37
Matt Wallace
ENG
-5
71
208
T37
Ryan Fox
NZL
-5
68
208
T41
Lee Slattery
ENG
-4
69
209
T41
Lucas Herbert
AUS
-4
68
209
T41
Renato Paratore
ITA
-4
70
209
T44
Gavin Green
MAS
-3
73
210
T44
Jorge Campillo
ESP
-3
69
210
T44
Mikko Korhonen
FIN
-3
65
210
T44
Robert Rock
ENG
-3
69
210
T48
Aaron Rai
ENG
-2
69
211
T48
Ashley Chesters
ENG
-2
70
211
T48
Erik Van Rooyen
RSA
-2
73
211
T48
Joakim Lagergren
SWE
-2
70
211
T48
Richard Sterne
RSA
-2
68
211
T53
George Coetzee
RSA
-1
72
212
T53
Lee Westwood
ENG
-1
74
212
T53
Shubhankar Sharma
IND
-1
70
212
T53
Soren Kjeldsen
DEN
-1
73
212
T53
Stephen Gallacher
SCO
-1
71
212
T53
Trevor Immelman
RSA
-1
69
212
T59
Jens Dantorp
SWE
Par
70
213
T59
Jordan Smith
ENG
Par
68
213
T59
Matthieu Pavon
FRA
Par
69
213
T59
Thomas Bjorn
DEN
Par
71
213
T63
Brandon Stone
RSA
1
70
214
T63
Maximilian Kieffer
GER
1
70
214
T63
Richard McEvoy
ENG
1
68
214
T63
Scott Hend
AUS
1
67
214
T67
Alvaro Quiros
ESP
2
73
215
T67
Nacho Elvira
ESP
2
72
215
T67
Jeung-Hun Wang
KOR
2
74
215
T67
Ross Fisher
ENG
2
68
215
T71
Benjamin Hebert
FRA
3
76
216
T71
Matthew Southgate
ENG
3
68
216
T71
Oliver Fisher
ENG
3
71
216
T71
Paul Waring
ENG
3
70
216
T75
Ali Altuntas
TUR
6
76
219
T75
Julien Guerrier
FRA
6
73
219
77
Taner Yamac
TUR
15
71
228
78
Leon Acikalin
TUR
25
85
238

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