Frenchman Perez’s hot run goes

Victor Perez held a two-shot lead heading into today’s final round of the Foshan Open after posting a fiveunder-par 67 on day three in China.

The Frenchman moved to 16-under in total, two shots ahead of Englishman Callum Tarren and Italian Francesco Laporta, who tied the lowest tournament score at Foshan Golf Club with a stunning 63.

Perez was tied with Tarren, Ewen Ferguson and Jack Singh Brar at the halfway stage.

But it was the Frenchman who broke free from the pack with a three-under-par front nine to draw level with Laporta, who had set the target at 14-under, before birdies on the 13th and 18th gave him the sole lead.

With 48 players shooting under-par rounds on day three, Perez admits he knew birdies were vital to remain in contention.

“It’s hard because you know you’re in the lead but by the time you tee off you’re probably not going to be in the lead because of how the course is playing,” he said.

“Francesco had an unbelievable round and tied the lowest-ever score for the tournament, so you knew a low score was out there.”