Matthias Schwab increased his advantage at the Turkish Airlines Open to three strokes after another low-scoring day at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Belek.
Fresh from his tied fourth finish at WGC-HSBC Champions last week – on what was his World Golf Championships debut – the Austrian continued his fine run of form, posting a six under par 66 to move to 18 under par after starting the day one stroke ahead.
The 24-year-old has nine top ten finishes to his name in 2019, including a runner-up result at the Porsche European Open, as he goes in search of a maiden European Tour victory and a first Rolex Series title.
He will face stiff competition on the final day, however, as 2018 Masters Tournament champion Patrick Reed is one of five players who will start the final round three strokes behind.
Reed is joined in a share of second by Englishmen Ross Fisher and Tyrrell Hatton, France’s Benjamin Hebert and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland. Hebert fired the joint-low round of the day, an eight under par 64, to move 23 spots on the leaderboard.
Scott Jamieson of Scotland, Frenchman Victor Perez and South African Erik van Rooyen round out the top ten on 13 under par.
Player Quotes
Matthias Schwab: “I got off to a really nice start on the first hole with the eagle that I made and then played solid golf all around except for that one little hiccup I had on 13, but other than that, I was hitting them well. Made a few putts. Overall it was a good day.
“I started putting with the flag in last week at the HSBC in China. My caddie came up with the idea. They weren’t really going in before, and especially in Paris, so we tried something different, and it seems to work.
“The game plan is going to be the same as it’s been the last three days. The course is gettable and there are a lot of birdies out there, so I’ll just stay aggressive because pars won’t be enough.”
Patrick Reed: “Any time you shoot 65, you’re happy. There’s a lot I left out there today, just alone on two of the par 5s and 5-footer for birdie, that was straightforward and ended up walking off with 6. Missed a really short one for birdie on 4, just those alone, that’s three shots.
“I left a couple out there but at the same time I made some putts I needed to make. I had a crucial save I felt like on 12. I was able to make the putt on the last, just kind of keep the momentum going. You know, how the conditions are, it’s warm and benign winds; you’re able to attack this place, so you’ve got to stay aggressive and make a lot of birdies.”
Tyrrell Hatton: “Normally I’m quite a negative person but in the last sort of month, I’ve actually felt quite confident. I changed shafts in my irons which has been a big help. Gone to a completely new grip and it’s been really good. It’s the best I’ve played all year, and just the putter hasn’t really been my friend, which in years gone by, it’s been a strength; it’s definitely been the weakness this year for me.
“So obviously if I can keep giving myself chances, you’re going to make a few occasionally and hopefully I can do that again.”
Scores after round three:
198 M Schwab (Aut) 65 67 66,
201 B Hebert (Fra) 67 70 64, T Hatton (Eng) 68 68 65, P Reed (USA) 71 65 65, R Macintyre (Sco) 71 63 67, R Fisher (Eng) 69 64 68,
203 E Van Rooyen (RSA) 70 67 66, S Jamieson (Sco) 67 68 68, V Perez (Fra) 68 69 66,
204 J Hansen (Den) 68 68 68, F Zanotti (Par) 69 67 68, J Harding (RSA) 69 65 70, L Westwood (Eng) 71 65 68, K Kitayama (USA) 69 68 67,
205 R Ramsay (Sco) 68 73 64, P Waring (Eng) 70 67 68,
206 R Langasque (Fra) 70 66 70, S Sharma (Ind) 71 64 71, A Pavan (Ita) 68 69 69, M Kinhult (Swe) 70 68 68, T Detry (Bel) 67 66 73, N Colsaerts (Bel) 71 68 67, T Lewis (Eng) 65 70 71, Z Lombard (RSA) 73 67 66,
207 R Fox (Nzl) 73 65 69, J Luiten (Ned) 67 69 71, D Lipsky (USA) 66 68 73, A Noren (Swe) 66 67 74, J Scrivener (Aus) 68 66 73, J Campillo (Esp) 68 68 71, T Pieters (Bel) 66 70 71, J Rose (Eng) 67 67 73, D Willett (Eng) 67 66 74, F Molinari (Ita) 71 70 66, G Migliozzi (Ita) 72 67 68,
208 M Southgate (Eng) 68 71 69, M Kawamura (Jpn) 75 67 66, K Samooja (Fin) 71 68 69,
209 W Ormsby (Aus) 72 68 69, N Elvira (Esp) 71 67 71, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 72 67 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 70 69 70, G Green (Mas) 73 69 67, S Hend (Aus) 69 68 72,
210 M Wallace (Eng) 74 67 69, A Rai (Eng) 68 67 75, R Paratore (Ita) 73 68 69, E Molinari (Ita) 68 68 74, S Crocker (USA) 71 67 72,
211 M Kaymer (Ger) 70 72 69, S Soderberg (Swe) 72 70 69,
212 S Lowry (Irl) 72 65 75, A Arnaus (Esp) 75 67 70,
213 J Smith (Eng) 71 71 71, C Paisley (Eng) 73 72 68, B Wiesberger (Aut) 71 72 70, A Otaegui (Esp) 69 72 72,
214 H Li (Chn) 73 71 70, C Pan (Tpe) 73 70 71, R Sterne (RSA) 70 72 72, J Lagergren (Swe) 73 68 73,
215 P Harrington (Irl) 75 66 74, H Tanihara (Jpn) 70 73 72,
216 C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 71 75 70, J Walters (RSA) 75 73 68,
217 S Horsfield (Eng) 74 73 70, P Larrazábal (Esp) 72 70 75, O Wilson (Eng) 71 74 72,
218 A Quiros (Esp) 76 71 71,
219 G Coetzee (RSA) 71 71 77,
220 S Brown (Eng) 74 75 71, D Drysdale (Sco) 72 72 76,
222 L Bjerregaard (Den) 71 75 76,
223 T Yamac (am) (Tur) 72 72 79,
** E Pepperell (Eng) 70 72 DQ
