Calum Hill will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after holding firm on moving day at Royal Golf Club.
The Scot, who began the day four shots clear of German Freddy Schott, managed to regroup following three early bogeys which saw playing partner Schott move two clear by the turn.
Back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th steadied the ship, as Hill carded a level par round of 72 to remain at 16 under par for the week and in pole position to secure a third DP World Tour title on Sunday.
“I actually felt like I played quite nicely,” Hill said. “I just had a few errors in there and misjudged a couple of putts early on that put me behind a little bit. I managed to come back a little bit on the back nine and put myself in a good position for tomorrow. If at the start of the week you said I’d have a couple of shots going into Sunday, I’d be delighted.
“I knew there were some chances coming on the back nine; the par fives are a chance, ten is a chance, but there were some really tough pins. Honestly, it was really tricky on and around the greens. Putting, the undulation, some of the flags were really difficult, slightly different wind direction; it didn’t feel like a day where, personally, I could shoot really low. Level par, I would’ve liked a bit better than that at the start of the day but I’m also very happy with where I am.
“Today’s a great experience. It’s been a while since I’ve been at the top of a leaderboard and leading going into the weekend. Early on, I could feel the adrenaline going through my body. My arms, forearms and hands were a little – I don’t know how to explain it – like springy, so a couple of my putts early on were a little firm or misjudged. I settled in after that sixth hole, felt a little bit better. The nice thing I like about today is that no matter how my body felt, my striking was still there. I still controlled the golf ball really well and hit it where I wanted to. I just need to work on the putting a little bit. However, in saying that, that is my greatest asset in my game, so I’m not too worried about it.”
For Schott, it was a tale of two nines. After four birdies on the front nine, the 24-year-old mixed a birdie with three dropped shots on the way home to sign for a two under par round of 70, however remains in contention for a breakthrough DP World Tour win.
Meanwhile, Patrick Reed carded a joint low-round-of-the day 66 to reach 12 under par and into a share of third place alongside Scotland’s Grant Forrest and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.
Reed, fresh off a win at last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, recorded four birdies in his opening six holes, before mixing an eagle at the par five 13th with a birdie and a solitary bogey on the back nine.
Forrest joined Reed in third after an impressive 67 which featured six birdies and a bogey, while Garcia registered five birdies – including three in a row from the ninth – before he dropped his only shot of the day at the 16th for a four under par 68.
Garcia’s countrymen Nacho Elvira and Jorge Campillo were in the group at 11 under alongside Swede Mikael Lindberg and Englishman Ben Schmidt, with eight players one shot further back in a tie for tenth.
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