Li three clear after sensational eagle in Turkey
Tournament: Turkish Airlines Open Rolex Series: Sixth Rolex Series tournament of 2018  Race to Dubai: Tournament 45 of 47 events Venue: Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Turkey Prize fund: US$7,000,000 Hashtag: #TurkishAirlinesOpen #Rolex Series
The image of Li Haotong must be credited to Getty Images and used in conjunction with this release only. Please click on image to download a high-resolution version. You can also download video content and tournament information at the European Tour Media Hub: mediahub.europeantour.com. Round Three report 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. 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. 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. 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 18th hole for a closing bogey. 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. 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. Player quotes: Li Haotong: “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. “I have definitely got a lot of confidence from Dubai, 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.” Justin Rose: “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 15th 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.” Alex Levy: “I think I played good golf today. 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.” Thorbjørn Olesen: “I felt pretty good today to be honest. I felt I was hitting it nicely. I hit a wrong club there on the par three and three-putted that one, and then a stupid bogey on the next. If I wouldn't have done that, I felt like I played really well. “This is a golf course where you can really get on a run. You saw that Haotong today did that. Anything is possible tomorrow. It's definitely not over yet.” Scores: 196 H Li (Chn) 66 67 63, 199 A Levy (Fra) 67 66 66, J Rose (Eng) 65 65 69, 200 T Olesen (Den) 65 67 68, 201 D Willett (Eng) 67 65 69, S Horsfield (Eng) 66 67 68, 202 T Fleetwood (Eng) 68 66 68, T Aiken (RSA) 71 65 66, 203 L Bjerregaard (Den) 70 67 66, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 66 70 67, T Lewis (Eng) 69 63 71, 204 T Detry (Bel) 66 70 68, M Kaymer (Ger) 66 69 69, A Otaegui (Esp) 68 65 71, D Fichardt (RSA) 68 68 68, J Scrivener (Aus) 67 67 70, P Dunne (Irl) 64 71 69, 205 S Lowry (Irl) 68 70 67, J Suri (USA) 67 68 70, N Colsaerts (Bel) 69 66 70, C Paisley (Eng) 67 69 69, P Larrazábal (Esp) 68 69 68, J Luiten (Ned) 70 66 69, R Knox (Sco) 70 66 69, M Schwab (Aust) 69 69 67, D Burmester (RSA) 72 65 68, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 68 70 67, 206 P Harrington (Irl) 65 70 71, T Pieters (Bel) 75 69 62, A Sullivan (Eng) 72 68 66, 207 A Pavan (Ita) 68 75 64, W Ormsby (Aus) 70 68 69, H Tanihara (Jpn) 72 64 71, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 65 72, A Björk (Swe) 73 69 65, A Johnston (Eng) 71 70 66, 208 M Kinhult (Swe) 70 70 68, A Wu (Chn) 66 71 71, M Wallace (Eng) 67 70 71, R Fox (Nzl) 69 71 68, 209 L Slattery (Eng) 70 70 69, L Herbert (Aus) 73 68 68, R Paratore (Ita) 73 66 70, 210 M Korhonen (Fin) 74 71 65, J Campillo (Esp) 72 69 69, R Rock (Eng) 73 68 69, G Green (Mas) 67 70 73, 211 A Rai (Eng) 71 71 69, J Lagergren (Swe) 72 69 70, E Van Rooyen (RSA) 67 71 73, A Chesters (Eng) 72 69 70, R Sterne (RSA) 74 69 68, 212 S Kjeldsen (Den) 71 68 73, S Gallacher (Sco) 70 71 71, T Immelman (RSA) 72 71 69, G Coetzee (RSA) 70 70 72, L Westwood (Eng) 66 72 74, S Sharma (Ind) 70 72 70, 213 J Smith (Eng) 74 71 68, M Pavon (Fra) 73 71 69, T Bjørn (Den) 73 69 71, J Dantorp (Swe) 72 71 70, 214 S Hend (Aus) 73 74 67, B Stone (RSA) 74 70 70, R McEvoy (Eng) 75 71 68, M Kieffer (Ger) 70 74 70, 215 R Fisher (Eng) 72 75 68, A Quiros (Esp) 69 73 73, J Wang (Kor) 70 71 74, N Elvira (Esp) 71 72 72, 216 P Waring (Eng) 75 71 70, B Hebert (Fra) 71 69 76, M Southgate (Eng) 78 70 68, O Fisher (Eng) 71 74 71, 219 A Altuntas (Tur) 74 69 76, J Guerrier (Fra) 77 69 73, 228 T Yamac (am) (Tur) 78 79 71, 238 L Acikalin (am) (Tur) 74 79 85,