David GonzalezLars Van der Vight began Saturday at the Hainan Open with four holes of his second round still to play. By the time he finally finished, he had completed 22 holes, collected 12 birdies and opened a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round.
Not a bad day’s work, particularly for a man who apparently lost count of how many birdies he was making.
The 24-year-old Dutchman produced a bogey-free, ten-under-par 62 at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club, matching the lowest round of the week and taking his tournament total to 19 under.
Joseba Torres, who had led after 36 holes, and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen are his nearest challengers at 16 under. Van der Vight, meanwhile, has rather more than a tournament trophy to think about.
A second HotelPlanner Tour victory could transform his position in the Road to Mallorca rankings and bring a DP World Tour card for 2027 considerably closer.
Four holes to finish, ten birdies to follow
Van der Vight’s Saturday began earlier than planned, thanks to the previous day’s suspension for darkness.
He returned to complete the final four holes of his second round, promptly picked up two birdies and signed for a 67. With that unfinished business out of the way, he turned his attention to round three.
What followed was the sort of scoring exhibition that can make an otherwise perfectly respectable leaderboard look rather ordinary.
Three consecutive birdies from the fourth through the sixth provided the first serious burst of momentum. Another four arrived without interruption between the 11th and 14th.
He then birdied both closing holes, finishing with ten birdies and not a single bogey on his third-round card.
There was something equally revealing about his reaction afterwards. Asked about those consecutive runs of birdies, Van der Vight admitted he had not even noticed them.
For a professional golfer, being unaware of precisely how well things are going is a rather useful problem to have.
“I first had to finish my second round this morning, I had to finish the last four holes, and I was just trying to see how close I could get today. It’s pretty good now.”
That last sentence qualifies as considerable understatement.
The Road to Mallorca raises the stakes
The numbers on Van der Vight’s scorecard are impressive enough. The numbers in the season-long rankings might prove considerably more important.
Currently 22nd in the Road to Mallorca standings, the Dutchman could climb to sixth with victory at the Hainan Open. With the top 15 positions offering the prize of DP World Tour promotion for 2027, that would represent a substantial improvement in his prospects.
He has already shown he knows how to finish the job, having claimed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at the German Challenge powered by VcG in July.
Sunday now offers the opportunity to double that tally at a particularly valuable point in the season.
The temptation might be to start calculating every possible rankings permutation. Van der Vight appears rather less interested in the arithmetic.
“I’m just trying to play golf. With next week’s event and going into the Grand Final in Mallorca, that’s ten more rounds of golf to play this year including today, so I just treated it as another round. I just do my thing, and I did well again today.”
It is a straightforward approach to a decidedly complicated situation. The prize is significant, but obsessing over the rankings will not help him hole another putt.
And given what happened on Saturday, there seems little reason to interfere with the routine.
Torres and Pulkkanen lead the pursuit
A three-shot cushion is useful, although nobody watching a player shoot 62 around Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club will be mistaking it for an unassailable advantage.
Torres, the overnight leader entering Saturday, remains firmly involved at 16 under alongside Pulkkanen. Both will have the opportunity to apply pressure directly when they join Van der Vight in Sunday’s final group.
Singapore’s Gregory Foo has also forced his way into contention. An eagle chip-in helped him reach 15 under and claim outright fourth place, leaving him four strokes behind the leader.
One shot further back are Liam Nolan, winner of the previous week’s event, and England’s Charlie Forster, both at 14 under.
Van der Vight has the advantage, but the chasing pack contains enough players within striking distance to ensure the final round remains a contest.
One more round between Van der Vight and a major opportunity
The final round begins at 7:45 am local time on Sunday, with Van der Vight, Pulkkanen and Torres set to start their final-group showdown at 9:29 am.
For Van der Vight, the objective is familiar: keep creating opportunities, hole the putts and resist the temptation to think several holes ahead.
His Saturday performance has already done the difficult work of putting him in control. Sunday will determine whether he can convert that advantage into a second victory and a potentially career-changing leap up the rankings.
As for any elaborate final-round strategy, the leader is keeping things pleasingly uncomplicated.
“It will be a similar approach as today, just try and play good golf, make some putts and we’ll see after 18 where we stand.”
