A spectacular day three at the DP World Tour Championship

The stroke average for round three was 68.5. over 200 birdies and 14 eagles were made on day three. The Earth Course has no defence due to the soft conditions. There was lift, clean and place again for today’s round and that should be scrapped for the final round.

Halfway leader Nicolai Hojgaard started his round with a birdie at the par five second hole. His second shot from 236 yards at the par five seventh was sensational and ended up tap in distance from the hole. Hojgaard advanced to 15 under after a birdie at the par four 11th hole. The Danish star missed the fairway at the 12th hole which resulted in a bogey. Hojgaard bounced back immediately as he rolled in his birdie putt at the par three 13th.

The 14th hole is a reachable par five for Hojgaard but was forced to lay up after missing the fairway. Hojgaard pushed his third shot and was extremely lucky that his ball didn’t go into the water. Danish star managed to achieve a par but didn’t take advantage of his length at the short par four 15th hole. Hojgaard limped home with two bogeys at both the 17th and 18th hole. Hojgaard is three behind with one round to go.

Matt Wallace started his third round on six under. The Englishman played his front nine in three under. Wallace’s back nine was phenomenal as he made eight birdies from the 10th to 17th hole. Wallace had a chance to shoot59 if he made an eagle at the 18th hole.

Wallace’s second shot went into the bunker at the 18th but got up and down for a birdie. Absolutely fantastic that Wallace shot a round of 60 and played the back nine in 27 shots. Wallace is now leading but it’s mad to think he just about made it into this week due to a good final round in South Africa. Wallace is on 16 under and takes a one-shot lead into the final round.

FedEx Cup Champion Viktor Hovland impressed yet again on day three with a round of 66. The Norwegian’s iron play was outstanding today and achieved a bogey free round. Hovland will be disappointed that he didn’t birdie either par five on the back nine. Hovland is one behind with one round to go and is in a great position.

Tommy Fleetwood is a fan favourite all over the world especially with having his own academy at the Earth Course. Fleetwood hit some exceptional shots today especially with his short irons. The highlight of Fleetwood’s third round was a 60 foot putt for eagle at the par five 14th hole. Fleetwood will be disappointed that he played the last two holes in one over but is also one behind going into the final round.

Ewen Ferguson made five threes in the first seven holes. Ferguson was seven under for his round after 12 holes. Ferguson shot a third round 64 and is three behind leader Wallace.

On day two Jeff Winther started with three birdies and done this yet again in round three. The highlight of Winther’s round was two eagles with one of them a holed wedge shot. Winther has made the most birdies at the Earth Course so far this week with 19. Winther was playing with Jon Rahm and the Denmark native had a better round than the Masters Champion. Winther shot a round of eight under and is two behind leader Wallace.

Jens Dantorp started his round with a couple of birdies but had a double bogey at the ninth hole. Dantorp played the back nine in three under to be in a tie for seventh on 12 under. Matthieu Pavon has been very steady so far this week with three rounds in the 60s. Pavon is also in a tie for seventh on 12 under.

Four Denmark players are in the top 10 which includes the Hojgaard twins, Thorbjorn Olesen and Winther. Rasmus shot an impressive third round of seven under. It’s great to see Olesen return to form and the highlight of his third round was an eagle at the seventh hole. Thriston Lawrence is also in a tie for ninth on 11 under despite a bogey at the par three 17th hole.

Jon Rahm is also in a tie for ninth on 11 under. He started his third round slowly with missing a couple of chances but had a strong finish. Rahm hit an incredible shot from the chip bark which ended up on the green at the 18th hole. Rahm is five behind and is still capable of making it a fourth DP World Tour Championship win.

Robert MacIntyre rallied after a bad start to shoot a three under round. Tyrrell Hatton struggled as he shot a level par round. A unbelievable comeback from Matt Fitzpatrick as he is now seven under. Rory McIlroy had his best round of the week with an eagle finish to shoot 65.

It’s set up to be a shoot out on the final round. There has been a lot of distraction in the world of professional golf this year but hopefully the final round of the DP World Tour season is a good one. With conditions been soft my opinion is that the winning score will be 22 under. With so many world class players at the top of the leaderboard it would be no surprise if there was a play-off.