Dunne and Lowry eye big finishes as Haotong Li moves three clear

Paul Dunne

Paul Dunne and Shane Lowry are gunning for hot finishes in the Turkish Airlines Open where Justin Rose must reel in China’s Haotong Li if he’s to retain his title and regain the world number one ranking.

Dunne played far better than his two-under 69 might suggest but he’s just a shot outside the top 10 on nine-under heading into the final round and one good score away from making a major move in the Race to Dubai.

It’s a similar story for Lowry, who birdied the last for four-under 67 to move quietly into the top 20 on eight under as Pádraig Harrington, who will have to wait until early December to find out if he’s officially named Ryder Cup captain, posted a 71 to lie tied 28th on seven-under.

“Conditions are perfect," said Dunne "The scores are out there but you have to play well and putt well. There's a good one there tomorrow if I can put the two of them together.

“I thought I played okay. I played very nicely at the start and hit a lot of good shots. Then I was a little bit ropey on holes nine, 10, 11 and then played nicely coming in. I didn't make any putts really. I left three putts right in the middle just short and then missed a little one for par on 17. It could have been a lot better really.”

The Greystones star lost control of the clubface in his second round 71 but felt far more in control in round three and followed a birdie at the fifth with birdie twos at the sixth and eighth to get to 10-under.

He bogeyed the tough 10th after finding the trees right of the fairway but got up and down for birdie at the 12th and while he was disappointed to miss a short par putt at the 17th, he felt positive about his game.

“It felt it better this morning,” he said. “I was hitting some shots with a glove under my right armpit and felt the club dropping down a bit better as opposed to it kind of going all over the place.

“There are a lot of positives to take. I hit a lot of nice iron shots and good drives; a lot better than yesterday. I played today like I did the first day. I just didn't make the putts or get the odd break where you hit a really nice shot and it goes to a foot instead of six feet and you miss it.

“I was quite pleased. Obviously the score was average enough but how I played bodes well.”

Lowry did not feel comfortable on the tee but he made up for his unease with some stellar iron play.

He had two’s at the second and sixth as well as birdies at the seventh and 13th before making up for his only dropped shot of the day at the 16th with an aggressive approach to around eight feet 18th that set up a closing three.

“I played better today,” Lowry said. “My iron play has been lovely for the past three days. But off the tee the first few days I struggled big time and I really felt anxious out there on the tee.

“Today was a lot better. I had a lot of left tee shots the first couple of days. There’s maybe four or five [tough tee shots], on 10, 11, 18 that if you negotiate those well you have the chance of a good round.”

Ranked 42nd in the Race to Dubai with the top 30 guaranteed a spot in The Open at Royal Portrush, he’s keen to finish the week well.

“I am trying to get a top-10,” he said. “Five or six –under tomorrow. I was frustrated with bogey on 16, felt if I could get to eight, nine, a chance of a top 5. Make six pars in a row out there and you feel like you are going backwards.

“You can get on a run. On Saturday last ye ar I shot 64. To be honest when I started off and came ouf of the blocks felt I could have a good one.”

One player who did get out of the blocks fast was Haotong, who birdied the first, fourth, fifth and sixth before chipping in at the ninth to go out in 29.

He then holed his approach from the rough at the 10th for a spectacular eagle two and birdied the 12th to get to 17-under before finishing with six pars for an eight-under-par 63.

“That was quite a special moment for myself,” Haotong said of his eagle two at the tough, 500-yard par-four.

“The second shot was like 173 something and 8-iron, tried to hit a high fade, which I did, but little bit flyer high and finished pin-high, which is a little long, and lucky from the top and rolls in.”

Now 50th in the world, the Chinese star ended the day three clear of Rose (69) and France’s Alexander Levy (66) and he’s looking forward to another chance to go head to head with one of Europe’s big guns after beating Rory McIlroy in the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this season.

“Definitely got a lot of confidence from that, and since then, playing a lot of big events, which has built me confidence, also,” he said. “It's going to be an exciting day for tomorrow, and looking forward to go against Rosey.”


Rose got to within a shot of Haotong with six holes to go but bogeyed the 13th and 18th for a 69.

“I haven't driven the ball well all week,” Rose said after driving into the water at the 10th and 18th and finding water with his approach to the par-five 15th.

“I can't change today obviously, so the position I'm in is the position I'm in. It's not a bad position. Of course, it could have been better. Going into tomorrow, I'm in a good spot. At the start of the week, you might have said, you know what, I'll chance my luck and take that and see how Sunday pans out.”