By Matt Smith
China’s Li Haotong is 18 holes away from a wire-to-wire triumph at the BMW International Open and his first  DP World Tour title in more than four years as he takes a three-stroke lead into the final round.

The 26-year-old, whose last victory came at the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, started the day with a one-stroke lead which he quickly extended with his third eagle of the week on the par five sixth hole and three further gains before the turn.

He came home level par after recording three birdies and three bogeys on the back nine to sign for a five-under 67 and a 20-under total, tightening his grip on the lead he’s held after each round at Golfclub München Eichenried.

Li, who equalled the course record of 62 on Thursday, will be joined in the final group by 2016 Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters, who won his first Rolex Series title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January — his sixth win on the DP World Tour.

Pieters was one under par through ten holes but came home in 31 strokes to sign for a six under 66, moving to within three strokes of Li on 17 under.

One stroke further back is Englishman Jordan Smith, who won his maiden DP World Tour title on German soil at the Porsche European Open in 2017. Sharing fourth place are current Ras Al Khaimah champion New Zealander Ryan Fox and Dutchman Darius van Driel on 15-under par.

“I was a lot more comfortable than I thought,” said Li. “Quite surprised. Just another great day again. Germany has been treating me very good so far.

“I didn’t expect an eagle on number six, and didn’t expect that birdie on 15 as well.

“The last time when I won in Dubai I was playing with Rory, and I thought I was trying to finish second that week. There’s no expectation. Even today, I played great, still have a three-shot lead but tomorrow will be a tough day. I just need to hang on in there, play my game. Expect everything. I just need to get comfortable as much as possible.”

Pieters added: “You know people are going to shoot 64, so I was getting a bit frustrated after about six or seven holes because I was only one-under and I had to save par a couple of times. It was very nice to shoot 31 on the back.

“People have come back from further behind. I just look forward to a lovely day tomorrow and hopefully a lot of birdies.”

You may also like:
Li stays in control at BMW
Travelers Day 2 takeaways
Take a look at how Rory outdrove playing partners
Travelers Day 1 takeaways
LIV Golf: Top stars set for Portland
Rory calls LIV players’duplicitous’
JT shuts down LIV rumour mill
LIV players permitted to play in Open
PGA plans tour series to rival  LIV
LIV Golf announces latest major signing
Brooks Koepka set to make his move to LIV
Report: Ancer is the latest LIV Golf recruit
18 parting thoughts from the US Open
Can you guess the top 10 US Open earners?