Haotong Li moved into a two-shot lead at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters with a third-round 67.
The three-time DP World Tour winner from China advanced to 13 under par at Doha Golf Club to overhaul halfway leader Brandon Robinson-Thompson.
A one-under 71 saw Robinson-Thompson move to 11 under par, enough for second spot and a place in the final group on Sunday, with England’s Matthew Jordan and South African Jayden Schaper sharing third on nine under after rounds of 67 and 69 respectively.
Haotong wasted no time wiping out Robinson-Thompson’s two-shot overnight advantage as he birdied the 1st after hitting a superb second into the par five and gained another stroke at the next from five feet.
263 yards ➡️ 8ft
A stunning second shot of the day, Haotong! #CBQMasters pic.twitter.com/d6k5r3qCsr
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 8, 2025
England’s Robinson-Thompson had only one deviation from par to the 15th hole and that was a bogey at the 6th, with Haotong taking the outright lead with a birdie from three feet at the 7th.
Both of the leading protagonists reeled off a long string of pars to the 15th, before cashing in on the driveable 16th, where Robinson-Thompson recorded his first gain of the day.
Haotong looked like finishing the day further ahead when he rolled in a 15 footer at the 17th, but Robinson Thompson got up and down from the back of the 18th green to close the gap to two.
“It felt not easy definitely,” said Haotong, who is seeking his first title since winning the 2022 BMW International Open. “An opposite wind compared to the last two days. I holed some moments and par putts, especially the one on 10. Overall I’m very pleased.
“[Two opening birdies] definitely released a lot of pressure from that position. Especially with my driver being a little bit off today. I didn’t hit as many fairways as yesterday, I just need to create more chances tomorrow.
“So far this year my approach play has been really solid. I just need to keep the momentum going.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboard at all until No 10. Then I saw I was leading and I thought ‘OK’. It felt like a strange feeling. It’s been a while. Hopefully I can continue the momentum going into the final round.”
HotelPlanner Tour graduate Robinson-Thompson was tied for eighth in Bahrain last week and was pleased to keep his challenge on course over the closing holes.
“It was a bit of a slow start, honestly,” he said. “Again the wind was up, pins were tucked a little bit and I kept hitting them to 30 or 40 feet. I kept giving myself chances but not close enough.
“You never know on this golf course, especially with this wind direction. You can always finish hot and luckily I picked up two towards the end there.”
Earlier, Jordan had moved through the field with five straight birdies from the 12th and, although he dropped a shot after three-putting the 17th, he holed a huge 56-birdie putt on the last.
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
