England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson fired a stunning third round 62 to move three shots clear going into the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open.
Related: Martin Couvra in control at Turkish Airlines Open
Robinson Thompson’s round matched the Regnum Carya course record and saw him reach 14 under for the week, three clear of Spain’s Jorge Campillo, China’s Haotong Li and South African Robin Williams.
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Starting the day five shots off the lead, Robinson Thompson had three birdies in his first five holes, all of them courtesy of putts from inside six feet.
Another fine approach to the same distance at the ninth saw him turn in 30 and he chipped in for eagle at the 12th.
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The HotelPlanner Tour graduate, who has already finished third in Qatar and posted top-ten finishes in Bahrain and South Africa this season, then birdied three of the last four holes, with the highlight a 22-foot putt at the 16th.
Spain’s Jorge Campillo started with a bogey but went on to make six gains in his round of 66. He was joined at 11 under by Li and Williams, who both birdied the last as the playing partners egged each other on to rounds of 68 and 67 respectively.
English pair Matthew Jordan and Jordan Smith, overnight leader Martin Couvra of France and Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg are a shot further back at ten under.
Player Quotes
Brandon Robinson Thompson: I just got notified (about equalling course record), and I was a bit bummed that I didn’t break it. Obviously, I wasn’t really thinking about it, but I’m super excited again to have another nice round and get it going. The scary part was I probably could have had a few more, but, you know, beggars can’t be choosers.
I’m here with my wife, we’re staying in a beautiful hotel, the Regnum. Course is amazing. Starting with three birdies was also really nice. Hitting the green in two on number 10 was also really nice today, so after that, I knew it was going to be pretty good.
I mean, this is golf, this is what we have to deal with (sleeping on a lead). Like I said, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself this week. The facilities, the course are so good, here with my wife, it’s such an incredible place. If you’re not having a good time this week, win, lose, or draw, you know, there’s something wrong.
Haotong Li: The birdie (on the last) kind of helped me to create a lot of momentum for tomorrow. The game was just as solid as yesterday as well.
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As soon as I saw a leaderboard on 12 green, I thought, two-putt here and I am one shot behind and it’s okay. And then I had a three-putt there and bogied the next hole. Then on the par five (15th) I heard I hit the cart path as well (going out of bounds) so it was a little bit unlucky, but I was very, very lucky to hole that putt there to keep the momentum going.
I’ve played really well on the front nine. The back nine was actually the same, I think sometimes you just need some luck to get the score going.
Robin Williams: I didn’t get off to a great start on the front nine, was a bit of a battle and a bit scruffy. Trying to just keep up with Haotong out there, he was playing super well on the front line.
But I think I’ve played the back nine pretty well this week, so I knew there was some chances coming up and I made sure I capitalised on them. I caught up nicely to him. We had some fun there on the back nine.
That’s all you can ask for is to have a chance on the back nine (on Sunday) and if it it’s your time, it’s your time. But look, I’ve played well this week, I’ve made myself proud. I’ve had fun with my dad as well, which is the main thing, so I’m just going to go out there and enjoy tomorrow.
