McKibbin up to fifth but six shots behind impressive Penge in Spanish Open
Tom McKibbin needs a sensational final round to win invitations to the Masters and The Open after Marco Penge fired a stunning seven under 64 to take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Open de España in Madrid.
As McKibbin made six birdies in a four-under 67 to move up to fifth on 10 under, he ended his day solo fifth, six shots behind a brilliant Penge, who made eight birdies in blistering 10-hole stretch to lead on 16-under-par at the Club de Campo.
“It was a pretty steady round, not too many mistakes,” said McKibbin, who will join Rory McIlroy, Conor Purcell and Shane Lowry in next week’s inaugural DP World India Championship in New Delhi.
“I played quite nicely. The course is very tricky, with firm greens and tight fairways. So very happy with today.”
The winner will earn a Masters invitation, and the leading non-exempt player will qualify for The Open at Royal Birkdale, but the LIV Golf star (22) insisted he was not thinking about those rewards.
“Not really, no,” he said. “I guess I’ve just got to try and finish as high as possible. I'm a long way back still at the minute, but you never know.
“I think these events and this tour deserve these spots. There are so many amazing players I think deserve to be in those tournaments, and it's a great step towards that.”
The Holywood star is 56th in the Race to Dubai and while he’s looking good for the first playoff event, the 70-man Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, he’s not yet assuming he’ll make the top 50 in the Race to Dubai and contest his third successive, season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
“Well, hopefully,” said McKibbin, who is projected to jump to 41st in the rankings. “I need to get there first. So I'm looking forward to the last couple of events. The last few have been a lot of fun, and it's good to be back over here playing.”
His Legion XIII teammate Jon Rahm saw his hopes of a fourth Open de España win fade when he struggled to a level par 71 that left him on four under.
But Penge looks like a man on a mission as he chases his third win this season.
The halfway leader was one over through six holes before he moved into top gear.
Four birdies in a row from the seventh and four in five holes from the 12th left him four shots clear of Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach and five ahead of Patrick Reed and Dan Brown, who all shot 67.
“Whatever the outcome is, it's going to be a great experience, great memories for me,” said Penge, who broke a wedge when he hit a tree getting back into play at the second, but then followed a bogey at the third with an incredible display of putting from the seventh.
“I just love playing golf. I love competing. I love playing in front of big crowds like we have here. I love to challenge myself, and whether that's good or bad, tomorrow is just another day for me.
“Tomorrow doesn't define anything. It's just another 18-hole round of golf. And whatever happens, happens. It's not the end of the world. I've still got my family at home and all that stuff, so I'm lucky.”
At the Buick LPGA Shanghai, Leona Maguire’s three-under 69 left her tied for 50th on three under, 14 strokes behind Japan’s Minami Katsu, heading into Sunday’s final round.
In India, local player Hitaashee Bakshi (21) fired a two under 70 to take a three-shot lead over England’s Alice Hewson into the final round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club.
Ireland’s Anna Foster moved up to 15th on one-over, ten shots off the lead, after a 67 that promised better before she double bogeyed her final hole.
Annabel Wilson (75) was joint 37th on six over with Canice Screene (74) and Sara Byrne (72) tied for 43rd on seven over.
At the HotelPlanner Tour’s Hainan Open in China, a level par 72 left Liam Nolan joint 52nd with a round to go and projected to fall five spots to 37th in the race for 20 DP World Tour cards awarded after the Grand afibak
At one-under, he’s 14 strokes behind the Netherlands’ Lars Van Meijel, who shot 66 to lead by three shots from Swede Per Langfors on 15 under.
