Bryson DeChambeau is 18 holes from his first victory outside the United States.
The 25-year-old from Clovis birdied three of his last six holes to shoot 4-under-par 68 on the Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club www.dubaigolf.com/emirates-golf-club.aspx and took a one-stroke lead over defending champion Haotong Li of China heading to the final round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“I can’t express to you how awesome it would be to win on the European Tour,” said DeChambeau, who has won five times on the PGA Tour. “I’m still leading, obviously. It’s fantastic. I couldn’t be displeased with that, but my expectation levels are for how I know I can perform, and I feel like I’m under-performing a little bit.
“I didn’t have my A game … (but) I’m still in the lead, still got the job done. I made it happen when necessary and hopefully I can have one more of those days, and maybe even a better ball-striking day.”
DeChambeau, who started 66-66, recorded a 54-hole total of 16-under 200.
Li birdied the last two holes to post his third straight 67, while Ernie Els, 49, of South Africa is two back in his bid to win the tournament for a fourth time after a 70 and is tied for third with Matt Wallace of England, who had a 69.
Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark and Kalle Samooja of Finland both totaled 68 and are four down in a tie for fifth with Alvaro Quiros of Spain, who finished at 71, and Lucas Herbert of Australia, who wound up at 72.
First-round leader Matthew Fitzpatrick of England shot 70 and is one more stroke behind in a tie for ninth with Jason Scrivener of Australia, who had a 71, and Jordan Smith of England, who came in at 69.
Tommy Fleetwood of England finished at 68 and is in a tie for 12th that includes Sergio Garcia of Spain, who had a 70, and Lee Westwood of England, who wound up at 69, while Ian Poulter of England is tied for 26th after a 70.
For complete results, visit: http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019012/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y#/leaderboard
