Stage set for an exciting final day at the 34th BMW International Open: Big pack hunting down leader Joost Luiten.

+++ Joost Luiten (NED, -14) takes the lead on “Moving Day” +++ Max Schmitt (-8) the top German after three rounds +++ Third round, third hole-in-one +++ Jamie Donaldson (WAL) hits the tournament’s 50th eagle +++ Tee times for the final round +++

Munich. The leaderboard has an orange look to it: the Dutch duo of Joost Luiten (-14) and Daan Huizing (-11) have risen to the top after three rounds. Third place is shared by Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Thriston Lawrence (RSA) and yesterday’s leader Daniel Hillier (NZL, all -10). Luiten played his way into the lead with the lowest round of the tournament so far (-7). Huizing, Molinari, Lawrence, Max Kieffer (GER) and Matthieu Pavon (FRA, both -7, T9) took just one shot more for their rounds on Saturday.

37-year-old Luiten showed all of his class in front of the 14,000 spectators who had flocked to Golfclub München Eichenried in glorious summer weather. The six-time winner on the DP World Tour did not drop a single shot on Saturday and takes a three-shot lead into tomorrow, as he looks to win his first title since 2018.

“We have some great events like the BMW International Open, especially in Europe where people come and watch. That’s what we need,” said Luiten. “We’ve got another 18 holes here and I’ve got to keep a cool head. I’ve got to hit some shots like I did today and we’ll see what happens tomorrow, maybe it’s good enough.”

Max Schmitt is the best-placed German in a tie for sixth place with Sami Välimäki (FIN) and Rikuya Hoshino (JPN, all -8). Six points off the lead with one round to go, the 25-year-old is still in contention for his first title on the DP World Tour.

“The BMW International Open is a very special tournament for me, ever since I played here the first time as an amateur. I have had three very sold rounds and am obviously very happy,” said Schmitt. “I will remain true to my ‘passive aggressive’ strategy tomorrow and just focus on my own game.”

Max Kieffer (-7) played an excellent round of golf to climb into a tie for ninth place. As such, the dream of becoming only the second homegrown player to win the BMW International Open, after Martin Kaymer in 2008, is still just about alive this year. Marcel Siem (-3, T31), on the other hand, endured a miserable end to his third round. He found the water twice on the 18^th and came away with a triple bogey.

In the morning, Connor Syme (-6, T14) hit the third ace of the 2023 BMW International Open. The Scot sank his 5-iron tee shot from 201 metres on the second hole. A hole-in-one has now been achieved on each of this year’s three rounds so far. Takumi Kanaya (JPN) was the first to achieve the feat on the 12th on Thursday, before Luiten aced the eighth hole yesterday. Fans have been able to cheer aces on three of the four par 3 holes on the Championship Course. Only the most valuable hole-in-one has yet to be achieved: the first fully-electric BMW i5 is up for grabs for the first player to ace the 17th.

Jamie Donaldson (-4, T26) from Wales today earned the honour of carding the 50th eagle of this year’s tournament so far. For each eagle, the BMW Group is donating 1,000 Euro to the “JOBLINGE” and “Kick ins Leben” organisations, in recognition of their many years of cooperation with the BMW Group as they work towards fair opportunities and educational equality.

Round four of the BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried begins at 07:15 on Sunday. The PDF document (“Tee times”) contains an overview of all tee times and groups.

You can find the current scores, more information about the BMW International Open and a livestream at www.bmw-golfsport.com