Graeme McDowell Holds 54-Hole Lead At Saudi International

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell leads the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers ahead of the final round.

Graeme McDowell, who won the 2010 U.S. Open, is one of just three players in the field that have shot under-par in each of the three rounds played so far at the Saudi International this week, putting him in prime position heading into the Sunday finale.

The Northern Irishman, who was also the man to sink the winning putt at the Ryder Cup in 2010, had four birdies on his back nine on Saturday to post a 66 in his third round.

McDowell has now gone 64, 68, 66 and he sits a shot clear of the field as he aims for a first victory on the European Tour since 2014.

He is at -12, one ahead of Frenchman Victor Dubuisson, two is also looking to end a drought, having last won at the Turkish Airlines Open in November 2015.

Dubuisson, who himself has featured for Europe at the Ryder Cup, has posted 65 in both the second and third round, with his five-under-par effort on Saturday being bogey-free.

Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who held the lead alongside McDowell after the first 18 holes, sits in 3rd spot, three shots behind the Northern Irishman at -9.

The Malaysia, who is a perennial fast-starter on the European Tour, sat pretty at the top at the turn of his third round, but back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 saw him drop into 3rd place.

A further two shots back from that sit the overnight leader and the defending champion, alongside Italian Renato Paratore. Victor Perez was at -10 at the start of the day and held a one shot lead, but a 73 on Saturday afternoon saw him drop to five shots off the pace with 18 to play.

Meanwhile, World No.5 and defending Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers champion, Dustin Johnson has gone 67, 68, 68 en route to sitting at -7 after three rounds, and he had a quick start to his round today, birdieing his first three holes.

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DJ’s compatriots, in five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, and four-time major winner and World No.1 Brooks Koepka, both sit six off the lead at -6, alongside Belgium’s Thomas Detry.

Henrik Stenson carded his second consecutive round of level-par 70 to remain at -5, having sat in a tie for 3rd at the end of the first day. The Swede is now in T10, alongside the likes of fellow European Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter, and Scotland’s Grant Forrest.

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British Open champion Shane Lowry is at -4, eight off the lead, alongside Thomas Pieters and Abraham Ancer among others, with Sergio Garcia, who was famously disqualified from this very event twelve months ago, a further shot back, with the lot still inside the top 25.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Matt Wallace are among the final few players still under-par, with 46 in the red numbers at the end of the three days.

A further 11 sit at level-par, including Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who carded a six-over 76 to drop well out of contention. Last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner Lucas Herbert is also among those at even par through three rounds.

The Spanish pair of Rafa Cabrera Bello and Pablo Larrazabal are over par, along with China’s Haotong Li and South African golfing legend Ernie Els.

Play will start at 07:02 (GMT+3) on Sunday morning, as Julian Guerrier, who carded a 79 on the third day, and Spain’s Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, kick things off on the final day in Saudi.

At the top, it will be Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson that tee off together in the final pairing, beginning their fourth rounds at Royal Greens at 12:50 local time.

Will either of the pair end their European Tour winning droughts? Could Malaysia’s Gavin Green finally get over the line and win on the Tour? Or could the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka or Phil Mickelson take the title home to the States?

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2020 Saudi International Leaderboard:

1 (-12): Graeme McDowell (NIR)

2 (-11): Victor Dubuisson (FRA)

3 (-9): Gavin Green (MAS)

T4 (-7): Victor Perez (FRA), Renato Paratore (ITA), Dustin Johnson (USA)

Selected Others:

T7 (-6): Phil Mickelson (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA)

T10 (-5): Ian Poulter (ENG), Henrik Stenson (SWE)

T16 (-4): Shane Lowry (IRL), Thomas Pieters (BEL)

T21 (-3): Sergio Garcia (ESP), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)

T27 (-2): Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Justin Harding (RSA)

T37 (-1): Matt Wallace (ENG), Søren Kjeldsen (DEN)

T47 (E): Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Ryan Fox (NZL)

T58 (+1): Pablo Larrazabal (ESP), Haotong Li (CHN), Ernie Els (RSA)

T68 (+2): Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP), Edoardo Molinari (ITA)

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