Marco Penge will bid to secure his maiden DP World Tour title when he heads into the final round tied at the top of the Hainan Classic leaderboard with home favourite Bowen Xiao.
Related: Sean Crocker moves into Hainan Classic lead
The Englishman posted a sublime seven under par round of 65, which was matched by Xiao, to share a one-stroke lead on 12 under par, with 2023 Betfred British Masters winner Daniel Hillier just one shot behind in third place at Mission Hills Haikou.
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The 26-year-old was three under par after five holes but miscued a driver-off-the-deck at the sixth, which resulted in what could have been a costly double bogey.
However, the 2023 HotelPlanner Tour Number One rallied with a birdie at the seventh to halve the deficit, before sparking into life as he made the turn.
Penge holed out for an eagle two from 145 yards at the par four tenth hole, before rolling in his second eagle in three holes at the par five 12th to move into the lead. A final birdie arrived at the par four 17th as he set the target at 12 under, which could only be matched by China’s Xiao.
The two-time HotelPlanner Tour winner’s previous best finish on the DP World Tour was a third place at this year’s Investec South African Open Championship and takes a share of the 54-hole lead for the first time in his career this week, while local favourite Xiao continues his excellent record on Hainan Island.
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The China native has two top ten finishes in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Hainan Open, which is held in the south of the Island. The 35-year-old is seeking his first DP World Tour or China Tour victory.
Kiwi Hillier added a third round 68 to his seven under par total to sit third with one round to play, one clear of England’s Sam Bairstow, Frenchman Martin Couvra and Australian Elvis Smylie on ten under par.
Player quotes
Marco Penge: I started off great. My approach play was really good today. I was in close early doors. I think I was three under through five. And then I tried to take six on and hit driver off the deck and it was probably one of the worst shots I’ve ever hit, but after that I played really solid. It was just one bad swing.
I’ve been really working this year to try and stay patient and accepting of whatever the outcome is, me and my caddy have just been trying to control the things we can control and at the end of the day, if I go and play well tomorrow or not, it’s not going to define me as a person and I just appreciate doing what I do and I love it.
