Lars van Meijel will take a three-stroke lead into the final day of the Hainan Open after signing for a six under par third round of 66 at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club.
The Dutchman, who started the day one shot back of the lead, mixed seven birdies with one bogey to move to 15 under par for the week, three shots ahead of Swede Per Längfors.
Having played the front nine in two under par, Van Meijel made back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th before nearly holing out for eagle on the difficult par four 15th. Pars on the next two holes and a closing birdie on the last left the 31-year-old delighted with his third round effort in Hainan.
“I played really well,” he said. “I struck the ball nicely and holed all the putts when I had to, so I am really happy.
“It was all very solid. Maybe my putting stood out, but I hit a lot of good iron shots and hit almost all the greens today. My gameplan is working so far so I will just keep executing and see where it gets me.”
Van Meijel first visited Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club back in 2019 on the HotelPlanner Tour and teed it up in last year’s edition, where he ended the week in a tie for 37th.
Now, playing this week’s venue for a third time, the Dutchman is beginning to feel at home.
“I’ve played here three times now, so I know it quite well,” he added.
“There’s lots of space off the tee, so I’ve been taking advantage of my distance and making a couple of holes a bit easier. It’s a good golf course which suits my eye.
“It’s getting a little bit firmer out there with the fairways getting bouncy. It’s the same with the greens, which makes the pin positions a bit trickier but overall, it’s in great condition.”
The 31-year-old arrived in China having finished inside the top ten at the Italian Challenge Open, posting a four round total of 15 under par. Van Meijel, who sits 43rd in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings, believes he’s now starting to feel more at home whilst contending near the top of the leaderboard.
“The last three weeks I’ve been in and around the lead every week, so I am starting to feel more comfortable in this position,” he added. “At the same time, I need to just take one shot at a time.”
German Jan Schneider, Italian duo Stefano Mazzoli and Renato Paratore and Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner share third place on 11 under par, one shot clear of Spanish pair Sebastian Garcia and Rocco Repetto Taylor.
The final round of the Hainan Open gets under way at 7:40am local time with Van Meijel teeing off alongside Paratore and Längfors at 9:35am.
