Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2020: Ashun Wu takes 54-hole lead
By Matt Coles
Ashun Wu celebrated Chinese New Year in the best way possible, by taking the lead of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic with 18 holes to play.
Ashun Wu started the day as he meant to go on by holing out on the 1st for an eagle-2, which immediately gave the Chinese star the lead.
He then followed that up with four more birdies, including consecutive ones on the 10th, 11th and 12th, and the World No.366 will take a one-shot lead into the final round at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.
The 34-year-old leads by one from Victor Perez, who finished runner-up to Lee Westwood at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
The Frenchman, like Wu, carded a 67 to make his move up the leaderboard, with Perez bouncing back from a couple of early bogeys to birdie seven of his last 11 holes, and he now sits in solo 2nd.
England’s Tom Lewis posted the joint-low round of the day, with his 65 seeing him move up more than 30 places, and into a tie for 3rd spot.
He now sits alongside the American duo of Kurt Kitayama and Bryson DeChambeau, with the reigning Omega Dubai Desert Classic showing off his short game skills with this stunning chip-in at the 12th on Saturday afternoon.
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Overnight leader Eddie Pepperell is in solo 6th spot, after only managing to card a level-par 72 on the third day, with three birdies and three bogeys levelling themselves out. He remains on -8, three off the lead.
Tommy Fleetwood makes it three Englishman inside the top ten in Dubai, after carding a bogey-free 69, with three birdies and 15 pars in his third round.
He is joined by Dean Burmester and Nacho Elvira, with the Spaniard making his move on Saturday, posting a six-under-par round of 66.
The Danish pairing of Søren Kjeldsen and Jeff Winther joined Lewis in position seven-under-par 65s on the third day in Dubai, with the man taking part in his 601st European Tour event in a tie for 10th alongside Irishman Shane Lowry.
Winther is among those a further shot back, and six off the lead, alongside Romain Langasque and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, among others, in a tie for 13th.
Ryan Fox now sits in T19, despite an opening round of 76, alongside Norwegian star Viktor Hovland, and Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera, with the group at -4.
Former Omega Dubai Desert Classic champions Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson remain in the red numbers, but are now at least eight back from the leading Wu.
Erik van Rooyen, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ian Poulter are also among those under-par, while Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen sit at level-par.
Sweden’s Robert Karlsson is also amongst the group even after 54 holes, after posting a third round score of 79, dropping down from T2 all the way to T45, and way out of contention.
Danny Willett and Lee Westwood are among those now over-par for the tournament, with 23 players in the black numbers after three days.
The action begins at 07:10 (GMT+4) on Sunday morning, with Ashun Wu and Victor Perez in the final pairing, teeing off their fourth rounds at 12:48 (GMT+4).
Can the Chinese World No.366 take a fourth victory on the European Tour? Or can Perez follow up his runners-up result from last week with a win this week? Could one of the chasing pack come through and post a score that is unreachable?
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Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2020 Leaderboard:
1 (-11): Ashun Wu (CHN)
2 (-10): Victor Perez (FRA)
T3 (-9): Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Kurt Kitayama (USA), Tom Lewis (ENG)
Selected Others:
6 (-8): Eddie Pepperell (ENG)
T7 (-7): Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Nacho Elvira (ESP)
T10 (-6): Søren Kjeldsen (DEN), Shane Lowry (IRL)
T13 (-5): Romain Langasque (FRA), Jeff Winther (DEN), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA)
T19 (-4): Ryan Fox (NZL), Viktor Hovland (NOR), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
T23 (-3): Thomas Pieters (BEL), Sergio Garcia (ESP)
T30 (-2): Henrik Stenson (SWE), Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG), Erik van Rooyen (RSA)
T40 (-1): Ian Poulter (ENG), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP)
T45 (E): Martin Kaymer (GER), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Robert Karlsson (SWE)
T53 (+2): Danny Willett (ENG), Tapio Pulkkanen (FIN)
T60 (+3): Lee Westwood (ENG), Padraig Harrington (IRL)