Lowry in the Leaders Wake

It was a tougher third day at the Volvo China Open for the Irish players with Shane Lowry carding the best score following a round of 68 on Saturday to finish 8 under and a share of 29th place - ten strokes off the leader.

Damien McGrane lost momentum with a third round  71 for a 7 under total.

Gareth Maybin was 4 under for the day after a round of 71 and holds a share of 46th place ahead of Sunday.

Michael Hoey was unable to build on the good work of Friday signing for a one under par third round 71 to finish 3 under overall.

Peter Lawrie was two over par for the day with 74 and a 2 under overall score.

 

A round of 64 took Branden Grace into a clear lead on day three of the Volvo China Open.

The South African, seeking a third European Tour title of the season, moved into a three-shot lead thanks to his Saturday round of eight under par.

Benign conditions in Tianjin were conducive to low scoring and Fabrizio Zanotti, of Paraguay, emulated Grace's 64, the bogey-free round taking him into third, a shot behind Nicolas Colsaerts.

Grace's compatriot George Coetzee and Sweden's Alexander Noren also surged up the leaderboard to share fourth place on 13 under after rounds of 64 and 63 respectively.

However, overnight leaders Gary Boyd and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet failed to build on their strong starting position. While Gonnet's 70 kept him in touch with the leaders, Boyd could only manage a one-under 71 and slipped to a share of ninth place on 12 under.

Highlight

Grace was five under par for the front nine, the highlight being an eagle at the sixth.

His only dropped shot came with a three-putt at the 14th but he bounced back with a superb pitch to close range at 15 as he birdied three of the last four.

Defending champion Colsaerts was less spectacular but a tidy 67 kept him within three shots of the lead.

Gonnet was two under for the front nine but made pars all the way home, the last coming despite a wayward second shot which struck a female fan.

Among the British contingent, Richard Finch was a shot behind Boyd at 11 under with Danny Willett a further shot back and Scotland's Paul Lawrie at nine under.

Volvo China Open leaderboard