Charley Hull edged closer to the Order of Merit crown as Shanshan Feng extended her lead in Dubai

Charley Hull produced a valiant late fightback to edge closer to a place in history as Shanshan Feng continued her dominance of the Dubai Ladies Masters.

Hull remained on course to become the youngest winner of the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit title after she salvaged a third-round 69 despite a horror show at the 12th, where she did well to escape with a seven.

But the 18-year-old bounced back to birdie three of the final six holes to get back to 10 under par, extending her advantage over her nearest Order of Merit challenger Gwladys Nocera to three strokes.

Hull will head into the final day seven shots behind the classy Feng, who shrugged off a trip to the water at the fourth to fire a six-under 66, while England's Melissa Reid vaulted into outright second after a flawless 65 - the best round of the tournament.

While Nocera faltered with back-to-back bogeys on the front nine, Hull took advantage as she birdied the second for the third straight day, and she picked up further shots at six and nine to cap an outward 33.

The Solheim Cup starlet looked likely to mount a serious challenge for the lead when she added another birdie at the fourth, but she then bogeyed the next before it all went sour at the par-four 12th.

After snap-hooking her tee shot into the sandy waste area, she pulled her second out-of-bounds and couldn't splash back onto the fairway with her fourth after her penalty drop gave her a plugged lie.

Damage limitation

Hull knocked her fifth into rough 50 yards short of the green and overhit a lob wedge 30 feet beyond the flag, but her slippery, downhill putt caught enough of the hole to drop and limit the damage to a triple-bogey.

She set about repairing her card immediately with a birdie at the next, and she made an excellent two at the short 15th before pitching to six feet at the last and nailing the putt.

Hull's compatriot Reid made the most significant move of the day, making four birdies in five holes on the front nine before breaking a run of seven pars with another birdie at the 14th.

Reid then closed with birdies at the last two holes to move to 12 under par, but she ended the day five adrift of Feng after another superb performance from the highest-ranked player in the field.

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Feng opened with a birdie and then knocked a stunning second to within two feet to set up an eagle at the third, but she dropped only her second shot of the tournament at the short fourth after her blocked tee shot just failed to climb onto the green and dribbled back into the pond.

But the world No 5 got up and down for bogey and got the shot back at the sixth, and she made further birdies at 12 and 13 before rolling in a confident eight-foot putt for another at the last.

Carlota Ciganda, who won the Order of Merit in her debut season in 2012, birdied the final three holes to crown an inward 32 as she moved to 10 under alongside Hull and Solheim Cup team-mate Anna Nordqvist, who returned a solid five-birdie 68.

French veteran Nocera closed on seven under after she managed to birdie two of the last three holes to salvage a 71, while Cheyenne Woods is a distant 13 shots off the lead following a disappointing 72.

Meanwhile, shot of the day went to former British Amateur champion Georgia Hall as she earned herself a new car for making a hole-in-one at the 167-yard 15th.

The teenager's perfect four-iron into the wind pitched eight feet short of the flag and rolled gently into the cup, winning her the keys to a Mercedes Benz, although she admitted she had not yet learned to drive!