LONDON: Li Haotong of China made four eagles on Saturday, including two in his last two holes, to grab a share of the lead with American Dustin Johnson at the Saudi International at the end of a third round in which Sergio Garcia was disqualified for damaging two greens.
Haotong’s incident-filled round of 8-under 62 — which also included a double bogey — finished with him driving the green at the 17th to set up a 6-foot putt for eagle before making a 3 at the par-5 18th.
Three of his eagles came on par 4 holes.
Johnson started the third round with a three-stroke lead and shot 65. The world No. 3 and Li were 16 under overall and five strokes ahead of Tom Lewis, who shot 62 for third outright.
Garcia was disqualified for “serious misconduct,” the European Tour said in a statement, after he shot 71.
The former Masters champion said “in frustration, I damaged a couple of greens, for which I apologize for, and I have informed my fellow players it will never happen again.”
Meanwhile, Haotong was quick to thank his lucky stars after his miraculous round at the Royal Greens.
“I think it was very, very lucky today. Those eagles, especially last couple shots, were really solid, but apart from that, honestly, my play, wasn’t that good. But I did made a lot of par putts.”
When asked about his round and its remarkable finish with his final eagle, Haotong said: “It was another lucky bounce on that one. I mean, off the tee, driving the bunker about two yards short to carry the bunker, and bounce over the bunker, it was lucky.
“Quite exciting on that one,” he added.
The Chinese superstar was confident of holding on to Johnson’s coat-tails, especially after his win in the region last year, when he triumphed in Dubai over Rory McIlroy.
“I just want to play my best, especially compared to last week.
“So I just have to put myself in the position, hopefully I get used to that feeling and play and enjoy myself on the final round.”
Front-runner Johnson was pleased with his efforts on Saturday.
“I thought I played well. Probably played just as well as I did (on Friday).
I gave myself a lot of opportunities, made a lot of good putts and just holed a few more (on Friday) than I did today, that was the only difference,” he said.
And the American paid tribute to the efforts of Haotong on the back nine.
“I heard when I was done, that’s pretty impressive. Four eagles in a golf tournament is pretty good, but four in one round, you take that any day.”
Johnson has won majors and PGA tournaments all over the world, but victory in Saudi Arabia would mark his first win on the European Tour, something Johnson is keen to achieve.
“It’s definitely an opportunity for me to see what I’ve got and I definitely would like to win a regular European Tour event. I’ve played in a few now. That’s something I haven’t done and so that would be a nice little way to send it back to the US (on Sunday).”
Li Haotong’s heroic round puts pressure on co-leader Dustin Johnson in Saudi Arabia
Li Haotong’s heroic round puts pressure on co-leader Dustin Johnson in Saudi Arabia
- Johnson started the third round with a three-stroke lead and shot 65
- Haotong’s incident-filled round of 8-under 62 saw him draw level with the American
Benzema hat-trick helps Al-Ittihad to a comfortable win over 10-man Al-Kholood
- The 4-0 win saw the reigning champions climb to fifth in the Saudi Pro League table, but still a sizeable nine points behind leaders Al-Hilal
DUBAI: Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick as Al-Ittihad extended their recent improved run of form to beat hosts Al-Kholood 4-0 and climb to fifth in the Saudi Pro League table.
The reigning champions now have 26 points from 13 matches and remain nine points behind leaders Al-Hilal. Al-Nassr sit in second with 31 points, ahead of Al-Taawoun on goal difference, while Al-Qadsiah are fourth with 27 points.
A difficult fixture for Al-Kholood became almost impossible when defender William Troost-Ekong received a straight red as early as the eighth minute. It came as little surprise that Ittihad would quickly overwhelm the beleaguered home team, with Benzema opening the scoring on 13 minutes from the penalty spot and then doubling the lead on 28 minutes, converting from Muhannad Al-Shanqiti’s assist.
The Frenchman completed his treble in the 35th minute, tapping home Moussa Diaby’s low cross from close range in a very similar manner to his second goal. Saleh Al-Shehri completed the rout six minutes from the end to secure a fourth straight SPL win for the club.
Earlier in the day, Al-Taawoun beat 10-man Al-Shabab 2-0 at home to stay third in the table. Roger Martinez opened the scoring with a 27th minute penalty, nine minutes after the away team’s MohammedAl-Shwirekh had received his marching orders. Angelo Fulgini scored the second in first half stoppage to secure three points and ensure Al-Taawoun bounced back from last week’s loss to Al-Ittihad.
In Friday’s other match, Al-Khaleej claimed a comprehensive 4-0 win over Damac, who had been reduced to 10 men after only 24 minutes. Al-Khaleej sit in ninth place in the standings, while Damac are 14th.
