Chinese golfer Haotong Li in strong position going into BMW International Open final day
Chinese golfer Haotong Li goes into the final round of the BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried in a strong position at the top of the leaderboard and with a chance of beating a longstanding tournament record.
Li shot another round of 67 (-5) to move 20-under-par at the top of the leaderboard. Li now has one eye on bettering the tournament record of 27-under-par, which was set by legendary golfer John Daly in 200.
Despite Li’s strong performance, a number of players remain in striking distance of the 26-year-old. Leading the chase is Belgian Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters (-17), who trails the leader by just three shots ahead of the final round. Jordan Smith (ENG, -16) tees off tomorrow in third place, followed by Darius van Driel (NED) and Ryan Fox (NZL, both -15, T4). Romain Langasque (FRA, -14) is sixth going into day four.
The best-placed German after 54 holes is Nicolai von Dellingshausen (-13), who shot a round of 66 (-6) to move into a tie for seventh place with Sami Välimäki from Finland and Japan’s Kazuki Higa.
Haotong Li said: “When I won in Dubai, I was playing with Rory and I thought I was trying to finish second that week. There’s no expectations for tomorrow. I still have a three shot lead, but tomorrow will be a tough day. I just need to hang on in there and play my game.”
Second place Thomas Pieters said: “You know people are going to shoot 64 here, so I was getting a bit frustrated after about six or seven holes, because I was only one under and I had to save par a couple of times. It was very nice to shoot 31 on the back nine. I just look forward to a lovely day tomorrow and hopefully a lot of birdies.”
American Billy Horschel said: “Overall, a really strong day of golf. I was a bit disappointed with the back nine after a great first nine holes, but it was a solid move today. With the leader at 20 under, it is going to take something pretty special to have a chance of winning tomorrow.”
