China’s Li Haotong hit five birdies on the front nine to take a three-shot lead over Justin Rose and France’s Alexander Levy on day three at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Rose, who can go back to the top of the world rankings with victory on Sunday, had a two-shot overnight lead.
However, the Englishman only managed a two-under-par 69 in his third round.
Li, 23, also eagled the 10th hole and birdied the 12th to finish with an eight-under 63.
“It’s going to be an exciting day tomorrow and I’m looking forward to going against Rosey,” said Li, who won the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this season.
“I definitely got a lot of confidence from Dubai and since then I’ve been playing a lot of big events.”
Levy made the most of the low-scoring conditions at Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort to card a 66 and share second spot with reigning champion Rose, one shot clear of the 2016 champion Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark.
England’s Danny Willet and Sam Horsfield are five shots back on 12 under with Tommy Fleetwood, Li’s playing partner on day three, on 11 under.
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