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Ras Al Khaimah Championship - Day three digest
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Ras Al Khaimah Championship - Day three digest

Everything you need to know from Moving Day at Al Hamra Golf Club.

Lombard took over at the top of the leaderboard while the Højgaard brothers continued to impress on day three of the 2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship.

Here is everything you need to know from Moving Day at Al Hamra Golf Club.

Second time lucky for Lombard

Zander Lombard got off to a stunning start on Saturday, making five birdies in the first seven holes to storm into contention. But it looked like his momentum may be about to stall when he made a mess of his chip shot at the long eighth, nudging it just a few yards forward. He opted to chip again from just off the green and this time he holed it for a bonus birdie to hit the front.

Lombard then chipped in again from over the back of the 17th green on his way to a bogey-free 63 which takes him into the final round with a one-shot lead.

Defending champion lands extraordinary eagle

Last year's winner Nicolai Højgaard came into the weekend a little way off the pace after feeling unwell on Thursday and Friday but made a good move in the early stages of his third round, notching four birdies on the front nine before holing his approach at the tricky 12th from the fairway for this stunning eagle.

Twin wins?

Rasmus Højgaard is aiming to follow his twin Nicolai into the Ras Al Khaimah winner's circle and make the Højgaards the first brothers to win the same tournament on the DP World Tour. And the halfway co-leader kept his hopes of doing so very much alive on Saturday as he made five birdies and one bogey to sit one shot off the lead with 18 holes remaining.

A tale of two nines

Most of the scoring has been done on the front nine at Al Hamra Golf Club this week, with the final nine holes proving significantly more tricky. Towards the end of the third round, the collective score to par was 299 under on the front side and two over on the back. But clearly no-one told Thorbjørn Olesen how difficult the closing holes are, as he carded an eagle and five birdies over the final six holes of his third round to get to ten under.

Hoshino almost makes an ace

Rikuya Hoshino went agonisingly close to making a hole-in-one at the short seventh on Saturday, as his tee-shot danced around the flag before settling a couple of feet from the hole.

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