Eugenio Chacarra and Haotong Li will take a share of the lead into the final round of the Volvo China Open as they both bid to win their second titles on the 2025 Race to Dubai.
Related: Haotong Li shares lead at halfway stage in Volvo China Open
Li, who won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in February, is also aiming for a second home national open title after claiming his maiden DP World Tour victory at this event in 2016, while Chacarra earned his first success at last month’s Hero Indian Open.
Both started the day in a share of the lead on ten under par, and the pair carded two under par rounds of 69 at Enhance Anting Golf Club to reach 12 under, one stroke ahead of Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand.
View this post on Instagram
Li, whose victory at this event came almost nine years ago to the day, was cruising as he reached 13 under after carding three birdies on his front nine, but his momentum stalled after he dropped a shot on the par five tenth hole.
He recovered immediately with a birdie on the 11th but bogeyed the 12th before parring his way home for his round of 69.
View this post on Instagram
Chacarra, nursing a thumb injury sustained during the second round, was one under through 11 holes after a birdie at the fourth. He also dropped a shot on the par three 12th, but responded with successive birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to draw level with Li.
Aphibarnrat carded a six under par 65 to surge up the leaderboard and he is one stroke ahead of Zecheng Dou of China, Germany’s Yannik Paul and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen who share fourth on ten under.
Player Quotes
Haotong Li: “Definitely not my best today. I played solid on the front nine, somehow on the back nine my irons went super far. I didn’t expect that. But glad I still have a chance to compete on Sunday.
View this post on Instagram
“So far, so good. I really enjoy the support from the crowd. I know everyone is coming for me and rooting for me. Hopefully I can deliver something special tomorrow.
“It was a strange day. I felt everything was going my way until number ten. I went to a wrong spot and tried to be cute. I lost some momentum. I’ll play better tomorrow.
“I’ve already mentally prepared for tomorrow, so hopefully tomorrow it will be just like Sunday in Qatar. I just play my game. If I play my best golf, no one else can catch me.”
Eugenio Chacarra: “I knew I was going to have some chances coming in if I hit fairways. We stuck to the plan and thankfully I could make a couple of putts. I hit a lot of good putts from long range, I had a chance to make a couple more. I don’t think I got very lucky today but it’s part of the game that we play. We had a lot of fun, even though I was a little in pain.
“I’m going to be way less stressed (tomorrow). India was tough; I didn’t have a place to play. I will enjoy this one more. Hopefully my thumb is good to give me a chance. This is Haotong’s home course and I experienced today what it’s like to play with him, so I need to play my best level tomorrow to have a chance to win.”
