McKibbin and Meadow both four back as Manassero and Ko seek milestone wins
Tom McKibbin kept alive his hopes of a second DP World Tour win when he birdied his last two holes to go into the final round of the Jonsson Workwear Open just four shots behind Italy’s Matteo Manassero.
Manassero (30) carded a five-under 67 to lead by a shot from South Africa’s Shaun Norris and England’s Jordan Smith as he bids for his first DP World Tour win for 11 years.
The four-time DP World Tour winner is on the brink of a dream comeback, having fallen from a career-best 25th in the world in 2013 to 1805th in 2020.
He won twice on the Challenge Tour last year to regain his DP World Tour card but faces serious competition at Glendower Golf Club on Sunday.
Smith and Norris carded 65s to close within a shot, but Manassero followed Friday’s stunning 61 with a 67 to lead on 20-under.
McKibbin (21) shot 69 to share seventh on 16-under as he bids for a second DP World Tour win in nine months that would see him overtake Rory McIlroy, who had to wait until he was 22 for his second DP World Tour win.
Manassero won on the European Tour as a 17-year-old and remains the tour’s youngest winner, but he’s taking nothing for granted as he seeks a fairytale win.
“It would mean a lot to win,” he said. “But it is already a nice journey up to today.
“We’ll think about tomorrow tomorrow. It’s really difficult to close tournaments out and win.
“I’m in a position I’m really happy to be in and all I can do is not force anything or feel like I must do something tomorrow.
“I’ll just be myself and play golf. I’m sure of the things I do, and you never know what golf will bring you.
“There are a lot of things not under my control that will happen tomorrow, so I’ll just play my game.”
Stephanie Meadow is also four shots off the lead as she bids for his first LPGA win in the Blue Bay LPGA in China.
The Jordanstown star (32) made three birdies and a bogey in a 70 at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club to share seventh place on eight-under.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko shot 66 to move into a three-way tie for the lead with rookie Bailey Tardy and fellow American Sarah Schmelzel on 12-under, two shots clear of China’s Ruixin Liu.
A 21st career win for Ko would see her pass the points threshold required for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
