Lars Van der Vight will take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Hainan Open after matching the lowest round of the week on Saturday with a ten under par 62.
The Dutchman carded ten birdies and no bogeys in his third round to reach 19 under for the week and move clear of 36-hole leader Joseba Torres and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen, who will enter Sunday at 16 under.
Van der Vight was delighted to see his game finally click, allowing him to take full advantage of the scoring opportunities at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club.
“I’ve played great all week but it felt like today finally things really got going on and around the greens,” he said. “I’m very pleased with today.
“I’m just trying to play golf. With next week’s event and going into the Grand Final in Mallorca, that’s ten more rounds of golf to play this year including today, so I just treated it as another round. I just do my thing, and I did well again today.”
Van der Vight was required to finish his second round on Saturday morning after it had been suspended overnight due to darkness, leaving him with four holes to complete before round three.
The 24-year-old made two birdies in those final four holes to sign for a second round 67, before making ten more in his third round for a total of 12 birdies on moving day.
Van der Vight made a hat-trick of gains from the fourth to the sixth, and four in a row from 11 to 14, before finishing off with two more birdies on 17 and 18 to stamp his place in Sunday’s final group.
However, the Dutchman admitted he had not even realised he had put together several runs of consecutive birdies.
“You telling me now is the first time I’ve noticed,” he added. “I had no idea, I was just playing golf and it was good.
“I first had to finish my second round this morning, I had to finish the last four holes, and I was just trying to see how close I could get today. It’s pretty good now.”
Van der Vight will be looking for his second HotelPlanner Tour victory of the season on Sunday, having secured his maiden win at the German Challenge powered by VcG back in July.
Currently ranked 22nd in the Road to Mallorca, taking home the title tomorrow would see him move up to sixth in the season-long Rankings and with one hand on a DP World Tour card for the 2027 season.
Van der Vight will focus on controlling what he can as he bids for a potentially career-changing victory.
“Obviously it would mean a lot to win. We’re all trying to get into that top 15 and get a spot. There’s nothing I can do to change it but try and play good golf, so I’ll try and do that tomorrow.
“It will be a similar approach as today, just try and play good golf, make some putts and we’ll see after 18 where we stand.”
A stunning eagle chip-in saw Singaporean Gregory Foo jump into solo fourth at 15 under par, with last week’s winner Liam Nolan and Englishman Charlie Forster rounding out the top five a shot further back.
The final round of the Hainan Open begins tomorrow at 7:45am local time, with Van der Vight teeing off alongside Pulkkanen and Torres at 9:29am.
