DP World Tour: Hill takes two-shot lead into Sunday in Bahrain

Calum Hill / credit: Getty Images

Calum Hill will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after holding firm on moving day at Royal Golf Club.

The Scot, who began the day four shots clear of German Freddy Schott, managed to regroup following three early bogeys which saw playing partner Schott move two clear by the turn.

Back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th steadied the ship, as Hill carded a level par round of 72 to remain at 16 under par for the week and in pole position to secure a third DP World Tour title on Sunday. "I actually felt like I played quite nicely, I just had a few errors in there and misjudged a couple of putts early on that put me behind a little bit", said Hill after his round. "I managed to come back a little bit on the back nine and put myself in a good position for tomorrow. If at the start of the week you said I’d have a couple of shots going into Sunday, I’d be delighted.

I knew there were some chances coming on the back nine; the par fives are a chance, ten is a chance, but there were some really tough pins. Honestly, it was really tricky on and around the greens. Putting, the undulation, some of the flags were really difficult, slightly different wind direction; it didn’t feel like a day where, personally, I could shoot really low. Level par, I would’ve liked a bit better than that at the start of the day but I’m also very happy with where I am.

Today’s a great experience. It’s been a while since I’ve been at the top of a leaderboard and leading going into the weekend. Early on, I could feel the adrenaline going through my body. My arms, forearms and hands were a little – I don’t know how to explain it – like springy, so a couple of my putts early on were a little firm or misjudged. I settled in after that sixth hole, felt a little bit better. The nice thing I like about today is that no matter how my body felt, my striking was still there. I still controlled the golf ball really well and hit it where I wanted to. I just need to work on the putting a little bit. However, in saying that, that is my greatest asset in my game, so I’m not too worried about it."

For Schott, it was a tale of two nines. After four birdies on the front nine, the 24-year-old mixed a birdie with three dropped shots on the way home to sign for a two under par round of 70, however remains in contention for a breakthrough DP World Tour win.

Meanwhile, Patrick Reed carded a joint low-round-of-the day 66 to reach 12 under par and into a share of third place alongside Scotland's Grant Forrest and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

Reed, fresh off a win at last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, recorded four birdies in his opening six holes, before mixing an eagle at the par five 13th with a birdie and a solitary bogey on the back nine. "It was a solid start (to the weekend). I got on a nice little run out there. I was hitting the ball really solid and just out in front of me, and because of that I was able to take advantage of the greens. I hit a lot of quality iron shots early on and made a couple of putts, which gave myself that confidence going into the back nine. It’s always nice to steal one there on 13 with an eagle. The game feels solid. I just need to work a little bit on the chipping – every time I miss the green, I’m having to chip and I’m kind of struggling, which is not normal for me. If we can just dial that in a little bit, we should be good for tomorrow.

It couldn’t have been more perfect out there for scoring. The greens were still receptive but at the same time, it was warm so the balls were travelling a little bit, and also very little wind. If you were able to go and shoot a number, today was the day to do it. Hopefully I could just get myself back into this tournament and we will see what the lead is at, but hopefully we can go out and put some pressure on them tomorrow."

Forrest joined Reed in third after an impressive 67 which featured six birdies and a bogey, while Garcia registered five birdies - including three in a row from the ninth - before he dropped his only shot of the day at the 16th for a four under par 68. "It was good. Today I played better than yesterday. I felt like I hit the ball better. I got to a nice, solid start and then in the middle of the round, I started getting hot, which was nice. The last five holes, I felt like I played quite well and hit a lot of good putts. Unfortunately they would all burn the edge or lip out or something like that. It was a good, solid say and I’m happy with it for sure.

My swing definitely felt better today. I found something on the range and it definitely felt a lot better. I was a bit more confident with what I was doing. Obviously there was a couple of thoughts here and there from some of the shots that I hit the first couple of days, but overall, I felt good and like I hit a lot of good shots."

Garcia's countrymen Nacho Elvira and Jorge Campillo were in the group at 11 under alongside Swede Mikael Lindberg and Englishman Ben Schmidt, with eight players one shot further back in a tie for tenth.

Report courtesy DP World Tour