Inicio News Dominant Dane Olesen stretches Turkish lead
If Olesen wins as expected, he will claim the biggest prize of his European Tour career to date

Dominant Dane Olesen stretches Turkish lead

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Thorbjørn Olesen will enter the final day of the Turkish Airlines Open with a commanding seven-shot lead after the Dane carded a solid three under par 68 at Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort, where a host of European Tour winners will lead the chase.

The 26 year old, a three-time winner on the European Tour, was composure personified after entering moving day with a six-stroke advantage, carding five birdies and two bogeys to move to an 18 under total.

Olesen cannot afford to be complacent, however, as five fellow European Tour champions lead the chasing pack – David Horsey of England, China’s Haotong Li, American David Lipski, Matteo Manassero of Italy and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger all sharing second place on 11 under.

If Olesen wins as expected, he will claim the biggest prize of his European Tour career to date and propel himself towards the top ten of the Race to Dubai Rankings, and into contention for a share of the US$5 million bonus pool on offer at the conclusion of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. 

Player quotes:

Thorbjørn Olesen: “I thought I played really, really solid. I missed a few short putts there in the middle of the round. I had some great chances for birdie, but when I holed that one on 14, it was very important because I missed quite a few before that. So it was nice to see one rolling in and then making a few birdies in a row, it was very important.

“It’s obviously difficult to try and keep making birdies after a day like yesterday. I thought I did very well mentally. I was very patient out there. 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. I have to be aggressive tomorrow – 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. That’s the key.”

Bernd Wiesberger: “I don’t think I could have shot any worse today, I played in control except for that last hole. It’s a shame to finish a round off like this but all in all it was a good day, loads of chances. It feels like I didn’t take advantage of the par fives all week, so if I can do that tomorrow, there’s another good one in me.

“We’ll see how it turns out at the end of the day obviously. He’s definitely playing really well. I need to make a fast start and try to put the pressure on him. If I can do that, you never know.”

Matteo Manassero: “I was playing to try and make as many birdies as I could. I think at one point we got kind of close but I could never really hit it close enough to have good opportunities in the back nine. I had a couple, I only made one and then the rest were 25-footers – one I left short and one was a good putt.

“But it’s just hard to make 25-footers to try and catch up. I wouldn’t say I was playing for second. I was trying to close the gap a little bit but I couldn’t. Of course I could have done better today but I’m happy with where I’m standing and we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Again, he’s playing great, and if he keeps playing like this, obviously he 110 percent deserves to win this tournament.”

David Horsey: “It was a bit of a grind again to be honest with you. I didn’t hit it in the fairway enough. But when I was in position, I hit some lovely iron shots. I felt like I putted pretty well. All in all, I’m pleased with the score considering how I played. Realistically, we are going to need something drastic to happen on his part for us to have a chance but you never know. I just need to go out there tomorrow and try and play a bit better and put a bit of pressure on him, start making a few birdies early; you never know.”

Round 3 scores:

195 T Olesen (Den) 65 62 68;

202 L Haotong (Chn) 66 68 68; M Manassero (Ita) 66 68 68; D Horsey (Eng) 67 67 68; B Wiesberger  (Aut) 66 70 66; D Lipsky (USA) 67 69 66;

203 T Jaidee (Tha) 67 66 70; G Coetzee (RSA) 64 73 66;

204 D Drysdale (Sco) 67 68 69; A Otaegui  (Esp) 70 63 71; P Larrazábal (Esp) 67 69 68; J Lagergren (Swe) 70 64 70;

205 J Wang (Kor) 67 70 68;

206 N Elvira  (Esp) 70 67 69; T Hatton (Eng) 72 67 67; B An (Kor) 68 69 69; J Campillo (Esp) 66 69 71; J Walters (RSA) 68 70 68;

207 M Ilonen  (Fin) 74 66 67; R Jacquelin (Fra) 69 69 69; F Aguilar (Chi) 67 72 68;

208 G Bourdy (Fra) 72 70 66; R Ramsay  (Sco) 71 68 69; A Sullivan (Eng) 71 67 70; K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 72 67 69; A Johnston (Eng) 71 69 68; S Hend (Aus) 68 72 68; R Bland (Eng) 70 68 70; A Cañizares  (Esp) 70 71 67; R Gouveia (Por) 70 68 70; R Rock (Eng) 69 68 71;

209 T Fleetwood  (Eng) 71 71 67; N Colsaerts  (Bel) 70 69 70; G Havret  (Fra) 69 69 71; W Ashun (Chn) 70 70 69; R Paratore (Ita) 71 71 67; S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 72 68; J Morrison  (Eng) 70 67 72; J Carlsson (Swe) 68 74 67;

210 P Harrington (Irl) 72 69 69; M Warren (Sco) 68 75 67; M Korhonen (Fin) 70 71 69; P Edberg (Swe) 72 69 69; L Slattery (Eng) 69 69 72; J Quesne  (Fra) 68 71 71; D Fichardt (RSA) 70 73 67; P Lawrie (Sco) 69 70 71;

211 D Willett  (Eng) 69 74 68; L Jensen (Den) 71 71 69; N Bertasio (Ita) 69 71 71; M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 70 71 70; R Karlsson (Swe) 70 68 73; M Southgate  (Eng) 72 72 67;

212 R Wattel  (Fra) 69 71 72; L Bjerregaard  (Den) 67 74 71; B Stone (RSA) 73 68 71; S Chawrasia (Ind) 74 69 69;

213 C Paisley  (Eng) 71 70 72; L Westwood (Eng) 70 70 73; V Dubuisson  (Fra) 72 69 72; O Fisher  (Eng) 73 70 70; R Sterne  (RSA) 71 70 72; T Aiken (RSA) 71 75 67; A Levy (Fra) 72 74 67;

215 D Brooks (Eng) 71 72 72; M Carlsson  (Swe) 70 74 71; M Kieffer (Ger) 73 73 69; N Holman  (Aus) 75 71 69;

217 F Zanotti (Par) 70 74 73; A Lahiri (Ind) 72 71 74;

219 C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 72 76; J Van Zyl (RSA) 76 72 71; A Altuntas (am) (Tur) 74 71 74;

220 B Hebert  (Fra) 70 72 78;

222 H Porteous (RSA) 72 76 74;

224 M Siem  (Ger) 80 77 67;

229 M Guner (am) (Tur) 81 75 73;

234 L Acikalin (am) (Tur) 75 78 81;