Lowry is in with a chance of a rare victory

IRELAND’S Shane Lowry surged into contention for his first victory in two years as Justin Rose closed in on his second in two weeks in the £5.3m Turkish Airlines Open.

Lowry carded a third round of 65 at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort to join Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the lead on 14 under par, with Rose, Padraig Harrington and halfway leader Nicolas Colsaerts two shots behind.

Colsaerts was four shots clear overnight and played the front nine in 32, but collapsed to a back nine of 41 to throw the tournament - and possibly the Race to Dubai - wide open.

Rose began the week just over a million points behind Tommy Fleetwood on the money list, but 985,000 points are on offer to the winner in Antalya and Fleetwood would win around 58,000 if he remains in a tie for 27th.

“Today was the best I’ve played all week, and maybe even better than last week,” Rose, who overturned an eight-shot deficit to world number one Dustin Johnson to win the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, said after a bogey-free 64.

“Since the FedExCup started I’ve been playing really, really solid golf and obviously the confidence always increases after a win.

“You start to be a little bit freer, so this week could be a by-product of that.

“I knew I had a low round in me and to find it today was very handy.

“If I was to play well in Dubai and win there, then whatever cheque I make tomorrow could be very valuable.

“Everything’s to play for and every shot counts at this stage of the season.”

Lowry’s last win was also in a World Golf Championship event, but the 30-yearold has not tasted victory since the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational and has slipped from a high of 17th in the world to his current ranking of 93rd.

“It’s been a while since I’ve won and I can’t remember back that far,” Lowry said after a bogey-free 65. “But when I’m out there tomorrow hopefully something comes flooding back to me and I manage to get the job done.”