Wade Ormsby has Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood and in-form German Marcel Siem breathing down his neck as the Australian goes in search of a life-changing victory in the Turkish Airlines Open.

Ormsby registered three birdies and an eagle in a round of 68 at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Antalya, Turkey, to move to the head of affairs on 12-under par; but he has that illustrious English duo and Siem, who would keep his faint hopes of winning The Race to Dubai alive with victory this week, just one shot back.

"It feels great to be leading that’s for sure," said Ormsby. 

"It’s a great tournament with a great field, so to be up around the front is great and to be leading it makes me pretty happy."

Poulter had opened up a six-shot lead over the field after a stunning second round of 66, which he completed on Saturday morning after thunderstorms had forced play to be abandoned on Friday afternoon.

But after a quick turnaround Poulter failed to rediscover his rhythm, opening with a bogey and dropping further shots on the fifth and 11th holes to relinquish the lead to Ormsby.

A double bogey on the 15th, where he hit a wild tee shot, meant Poulter dropped further behind, but a battling birdie on the 17th hole saw him sign for a round of 75 and an 11 under par aggregate total which still leaves him in contention to land a first European Tour victory for two years.

Ormsby has never triumphed on The European Tour but the Adelaide native, who currently lies in 78th place in The Race to Dubai thanks chiefly to a trio of top-ten finishes including a T9 at the PGA Tour of Australasia co-sanctioned Perth International, is enjoying the best season of his career.

"I’ve driven it pretty good all week.  Not thinking about it too much.  Just having a rip at it, which is fun, so enjoying the way I’m playing out there," added Ormsby.

"I’ll just keep doing the same thing.  I’ve done it for about three weeks and my game has been good for three weeks so I’m enjoying playing golf this way."

Victory would catapult Ormsby into the top-15 of The Race to Dubai and ensure him a slice of the Bonus Pool, but the form of Siem and Westwood may give him cause for concern as the pair chase the lion’s share of the US$ 7million prize fund.

Siem, playing in the last group out, finished in near darkness, but he still managed to close with a birdie to sign for a joint best-of-the-day round of 66 and set up the chance of a second victory in the space of three weeks.

Westwood also birdied the last hole to card a round of 67 which included a moment of magic at the par four seventh hole, where he holed his nine iron approach for a spectacular eagle.

Wade Ormsby Highlights & Interview – Round 3

Related Links

Scores / Turkish Airlines Open Leaderboard