Sunday 5 November 2017 12:56, UK
Shane Lowry and Kiradech Aphibarnrat will head into the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open tied for the lead after Nicolas Colsaerts imploded on the back nine on day three.
Colsaerts had maintained his overnight four-shot with a solid outward 32, but his game deserted him after the turn as he ran up three sixes on his card and struggled home in 41 to slip two strokes off the pace.
The Belgian's mishaps allowed Lowry to hit the front on 14 under after he fired a flawless 65, and Aphibarnrat also kept a bogey off his card in a 66, while Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington both surged into contention with seven-under 64s.
Lowry followed an early birdie at the second with further gains at six and seven, and as Colsaerts began his slide back towards the pack, the Irishman reeled off three consecutive birdies from the 11th and parred safely in to claim the clubhouse lead.
Aphibarnrat was the standout player in the final group and turned in 32 before picking up further shots at 12, 13 and 16 as he joined Lowry at the top of the pile, and the top two ended the day with a two-stroke advantage over Harrington, Rose and the unfortunate Colsaerts.
Harrington, 46, made five birdies in seven holes on the front nine and kept his momentum flowing with another two at the 12th and 13th, although he then pulled his second into water at the long 15th and could not avoid a disappointing bogey six.
The veteran, who is playing on a sponsors' invite this week, did bounce back with his eighth birdie of the round at the 17th which got him back to 12 under alongside former Ryder Cup team-mate Rose.
Last week's WGC-HSBC Champions winner birdied three of the first five holes and, after a run of six pars, he vaulted into the mix with a sparkling run of four consecutive birdies from the 12th which significantly boosted his hopes of slicing a vast chunk off Tommy Fleetwood's Race to Dubai lead.
Colsaerts made a great par save at the 10th after a wild drive, but he pulled a wedge into the water at the next hole which led to a double-bogey six and another errant tee shot into the trees at the 12th resulted in another dropped shot at a hole which he eagled on Thursday and birdied in round two.
The 34-year-old, without a European Tour win since 2012, encountered further problems at the par-five 15th and again found water as he scrapped his way to another six, and three closing pars added up to a two-over 73.
Colsaerts' fellow Belgian Thomas Pieters also ran into trouble after matching Harrington's front-nine 29, dropping shots at the 10th and 15th either side of birdies at 12 and 14 as he carded a 66 to get within three of the lead.
Eddie Pepperell was just two behind after two birdies and 14 pars in a cautious day's work, but he was left to rue an expensive bogey-bogey finish which dropped him to 10 under alongside fellow Englishman Matthew Southgate, who failed to make a birdie on the back nine in a 69 which promised to be so much better.
Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Paul Dunne are not out of the equation on nine under, while Fleetwood responded to an erratic first two rounds with an error-free 67 which lifted him to five under par.
