Sunday 6 November 2016 15:12, UK
Thorbjorn Olesen produced a late hat-trick of birdies to open up a seven-shot lead after the third round of the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya.
Olesen had seen his overnight six-stroke advantage trimmed to four after he dropped just his second shot of the tournament at the 10th, before David Lipsky birdied the 14th to move to 12 under.
But the young Dane responded with three consecutive birdies from the 14th to storm eight clear of the chasing pack, and another bogey at the last did little to dampen his spirits as he signed for a 68 and a 54-hole total of 18 under.
Olesen, who took control of the opening event of the Race to Dubai Final Series with a stunning 62 on Friday, enjoyed a huge slice of good fortune early in his third round when his pulled tee-shot to the par-three second was heading for the left rough until his ball cannoned off a tree branch and pitched on the green, settling six feet from the pin.
The 26-year-old rattled in the putt for birdie and marked another two on his card at the sixth, but he opened the door for the field when he three-putted the 10th green.
He was unable to take advantage of the long 12th after finding sand off the tee, but converted an excellent tee-shot to 10 feet at the short 14th, two-putted for another at the next and picked up another shot at the 16th.
A blocked drive at the last left him unable to find the green in two, but a 68 left him firmly on track to record his first win of the season, and his first since he collected his third European Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last October.
"I thought I played really, really solid," he said. "I missed a few short putts in the middle of the round, but when I holed that one on 14, it was very important. So it was nice to see one rolling in and then making a few birdies in a row there.
"It's obviously difficult to try and keep making birdies after a day like yesterday, so I thought I did very well mentally. I was very patient out there and I felt like I was playing some great golf, a lot of good iron shots.
"Obviously it's a shame to bogey 18, but I just lost a little bit of concentration on that tee shot. You get in trouble quickly here, so concentration is the key tomorrow and I have to be aggressive. I have never had a seven-shot lead so it does feel a bit weird but that is why it's so important to be aggressive and see if I can make a few birdies."
David Horsey is among a group of five players on 11 under after the Englishman also fired a 68, although his second bogey of the round at the final hole cost him outright second place heading into the final round.
Lipsky reeled off three straight birdies on the outward nine and picked up further shots at nine, 11 and 14 before suffering his only blemish of the round at the 16th in his 66, a score matched by British Masters runner-up Bernd Wiesberger.
Former BMW PGA champion Matteo Manassero also slipped into a share of second when he bogeyed the 17th, while Chinese ace Li Haotong completed the group at 11 under as he mixed five birdies with two bogeys in his 68.
First-round leader George Coetzee, who followed his opening 64 with a disappointing 73 which included a quadruple-bogey eighth at the 10th, climbed back into the top 10 as a six-birdie 66 lifted him to 10 under alongside Thongchai Jaidee, who laboured to a 70.
Race to Dubai title challenger Danny Willett bounced back from his second-round 74 with a solid 68, but he remains unlikely to attain the top-five finish he needs to knock Henrik Stenson off the top of the standings ahead of next week's Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.
