Frenchman Victor Dubuisson completed one of the best rounds of his career on Saturday, after a stunning third round of 63 assured him of a five shot lead over Ian Poulter at the Turkish Airlines Open. Dubuisson, who is yet to win on the European Tour, started the day in a tie for the lead, but his cool and serene performance took him clear of the more revered names on the leaderboard of this penultimate Final Series event.
Coming into the third round, most of the attention was on the ongoing battle between Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter to determine who will win the Race to Dubai, and Tiger Woods, who rose through the lead into contention on Friday after a flawless round of 63. However, it was to be the 23-year-old from Cannes who would grab the headlines of his own as he attempts to shoot is own dramatic masterpiece on Sunday.
Dubuisson continued the trend of his week, after rounds of 67, 65 and now 63. His faultless nine-under third round was a model of consistency, and illustrated the significant talent that has left many observers perplexed as to how he hasn’t won yet. After 54-holes, he is at 21-under par and five shots clear of Poulter, who shot 68, and six clear of Henrik Stenson, Tiger Woods, Alejandro Canizares and Raphael Jacquelin, who broke the course record with a brilliant 62 to surge through the field.
The key for Dubuisson, however, was that he completely outplayed those closest to him. Starting the in a tie for the lead with Poulter, Stenson and South Africa’s Justin Walters, the Frenchman’s 63 completely blew his challengers out of the water, with the trio settling for rounds of 68, 69 and 70 respectively. Woods, who struggled during his back nine, would post a 68 for his third round.
Dubuisson set his stall out for the day instantly, by making birdie on his four opening holes. Another would follow at the ninth as he completed his front nine in 30. He would have another burst of birdies midway through the back nine; starting at the 13th, before making another at the 14th to move two shots clear of Race to Dubai leader Stenson. He would not relent, as he made yet another birdie on the driveable 15th, before finishing in style on the 18th with a closing birdie, after Stenson himself had made bogey on that final hole of the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.
After signing his card, Dubuisson would state that this was his best round since turning professional three years ago. “I shot ten under last year at St. Andrews for the course record, but it was the first round,” he said. “But with the situation, it's the best day I did since I turned pro.”
That situation will continue to become more intense, as he seeks his maiden victory ahead of an illustrious chasing pack. However, he is well aware what is required to win on Sunday. “I'm very tired now, so I think I will sleep easy tonight. But it will be very stressed I think”, he said.
“I'll try not to think about it because if I think about it, I will put too much pressure on myself. But I know tomorrow Ian, Tiger and Henrik, they will shoot very low scores, so I have to keep the same strategy.
“I know I have a five-shot lead, but with all these great players, tomorrow it will be a very tough day.”
His nearest challenger is Ian Poulter, who finished second last week in Shanghai. The 37-year-old Englishman struggled to recapture the form of his previous two rounds, but he fought hard to post a 68 that leaves him within five of the lead.
With next week’s finale in Dubai looming, Poulter is desperate to claim a victory that he will likely need to establish a serious challenge to win the Race to Dubai, which he believes would be the greatest achievement of his stunning career.
“It (winning the Race to Dubai) would be a highlight right now if I can pull it off. So I need to go deep tomorrow.
“I mean, I need to make as many birdies, certainly as I've made in any round in the last couple of weeks.
“I need to go and throw eight- nine-under par tomorrow, hopefully put a lot of pressure on Victor and see what happens.”
Henrik Stenson is the man Poulter wants to catch on the money list, and he had a mixed day that ultimately added up to 69. With the opportunity to become the first player to win the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same season, Stenson is already looking to continue his momentum from this week, into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship next week.
“Dubuisson seems to be playing really well; he's kind of pulled away. But then it's a tight race for second, five, six guys tied on second position at the moment. There is still some hope there for tomorrow. I'll try to finish strong tomorrow and carry on to next week”, said the Swede.
Stenson has been battling a recurring wrist injury, which may be the only thing that can prevent him from claiming the Race to Dubai title. However, while he admits that it is a problem that needs addressed, he will be able to compete next week, albeit with truncated preparations beforehand.
“It desperately needs rest and recovery time and I don't have that at the moment, so I'm just trying to scrape by and it's going to be limited preparations for next week.”
Tiger Woods looked to have continued the momentum from yesterday, by playing his opening nine holes in three-under to threaten Dubuisson. However, the world number one would struggle off the tee as he succumbed to bogeys on the 12th, 15th and 16th, but in characteristic fashion he would hole a long putt for birdie on the final hole to keep himself just within reach.
The Spaniard Alejandro Canizares will play alongside Woods and Stenson on Sunday in the penultimate pairing, while Raphael Jacquelin progressed into the final group after his astonishing round of 62.
The 39-year-old Frenchman, who won in Spain earlier in the year, would make an incredible 12 birdies in his round, on route to equalling the European Tour’s record for most birdies in a single round. The one blemish would come on the fifth, with a crushing double bogey that derailed his potential charge towards history, but he fought back brilliantly by playing his final 13 holes in eight-under.