ANTALAYA, Turkey — Victor Dubuisson of France opened up a five-shot lead after the third round at the Turkish Airlines Open on Saturday, while Tiger Woods kept himself in the mix despite three bogeys on the back nine.
Dubuisson opened with four straight birdies and added five more in a bogey-free 9-under 63. He moved to 21-under 195 to distance himself from the field. Ian Poulter was alone in second after a 68, while Woods and Henrik Stensson (69) were among four players sitting another shot back.
Woods had an eventful round and hurt his right hand when his club hit a tree on the 11th hole, but he seemed to escape without a serious injury.
Woods made three birdies on the front nine, then mixed three more birdies with three bogeys in a six-hole stretch starting at the 11th. He finished with an improbable birdie on No. 18 for a 68.
“To birdie the last hole was a nice way to end, considering I struggled all day with my swing,” Woods said. “I was getting away with it on the front nine, but I wasn’t really playing well and it caught up with me on the back nine.”
His drive on the par-5 11th landed well right of the fairway, and he hit a 3-wood that brushed the tree and immediately jumped into the air and began shaking his right hand. That shot landed in a greenside bunker, but he still went on to birdie the hole and didn’t show any effects the rest of the round.
“My arm is a little tender. I smoked it on something. I don’t know what I hit but I hit something hard,” Woods said. “I just dealt with it and just played through it. I won’t need any treatment.”
Woods is looking for his first European Tour victory in four years but found just five of 14 fairways Saturday. But he needed only 24 putts in his round, one-putting the last four holes.
Dubuisson has yet to win on tour, with three third-place finishes as his best results.
“I will try not to think about tomorrow as it would put too much pressure on myself,” he said. “But I know Tiger and Henrik will shoot very low scores, so I have to keep the same strategy. I have a five-shot lead, but with all these great players, tomorrow will be a very tough day.”
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