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Denmark’s Joachim B. Hansen and Italy’s Francesco Laporta traded blows en route to rounds of 67 to share the lead going into the final day of the AVIV Dubai Championship. Both players started the third round one shot back from Antoine Rozner and they each posted six birdies – three on the front nine and three on the back, while Laporta’s only bogey came on the 11th hole with Hansen’s on the 15th, his first dropped shot in 51 holes on the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Hansen made par on the final hole after first finding the buggy track with his approach shot and then pitching into the greenside bunker. He managed to get up and down from there to stay on nineteen-under-par and Laporta joined him with a birdie on the last. “It was very good from tee to green, the best I’ve ever played from tee to green. I missed a lot of good chances at the beginning and a few on the back nine," said Hansen. "All in all five under is a good score but it could have been a lot better. The lie was alright with that third shot (at the last), but I got a bit too steep on it, but the fourth shot up to the pin was a nice one." In contrast, Laporta was happy with his day's work. “It was a good day, it was a good fight with the other guys. It wasn’t easy this afternoon, it was pretty windy and the greens were getting firmer so I’m really happy with my score," said the thirty-one-year-old from Italy. They are one shot clear of defending champion Rozner who got his round off to a flying start with a birdie on the first followed by a hole-out eagle two on the third, but he gave two shots back with a double bogey on the fifth in a round of 69. Finland’s Kalle Samooja is two shots back on seventeen-under-par after a round of 68, with Rolex Series winners Min Woo Lee and Tommy Fleetwood sharing fifth position on sixteen-under-par after rounds of 66 and 68 respectively. Lee posted six birdies and eagled the 13th hole to move into contention, while Fleetwood recovered from a two over par front nine with six birdies after the turn. Ryder Cup players Martin Kaymer (65) and Bernd Wiesberger (68) share seventh place with Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond (63) on fifteen-under-par.
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