HONG KONG – Justin Rose and Lucas Bjerregaard led the Hong Kong Open by four strokes after Saturday’s third round.

The Englishman and Dane were on 15-under 195 overall at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Rose began the day with a one-shot lead over his Danish opponent, who never let him out of his sight. Bjerregaard twice nosed in front at the par-70 Fanling Course before settling for shared honors.

Rose completed another bogey-free round – he has made only one bogey all week – and finished with a solid 6-under 64, which included two eagles and two birdies.

“It was really a fun day playing with Lucas and flip-flopping birdies and eagles and stretching away from the rest of the field,” said Rose, who had monster putts of 25 and 50 feet on Nos. 3 and 13 respectively for eagles.

Bjerregaard rolled in eight birdies to card 63, the best round of the day, and only a bogey at his final hole prevented him enjoying the sole lead going into the final round.

European Tour rookie Anirban Lahiri of India shot 65 to move to 11-under 199 and grab second place. India’s Jeev Milka Singh (65) and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (66) were next on 10-under 200.

Ian Poulter started two shots behind leader Rose but carded a disappointing 3-over 73 to finish 11 shots off the pace.

Poulter had made a frantic dash to make it to the Hong Kong Open and was only able to play because American Rich Beem had given up his spot so that the Ryder Cup star could meet the requirements of keeping his European Tour membership.

“The tank was empty and I’m really gutted,” Poulter said.

HONG KONG – Justin Rose shot a 4-under 66 to grab a one-shot lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open on Friday despite making his first bogey of the tournament on the penultimate hole.

Rose was on his way to a second straight error-free performance at the Fanling Course but bounced back from his late bogey with a birdie at the last hole to move to 9-under 131.

“I’m in a wonderful position going into the weekend,” Rose said. “I played a clean round yesterday but today it was a bit more of a struggle and I made a few mistakes and was happy to salvage par quite a few times.”

Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark shot a second consecutive 66 to sit in second place, with Ian Poulter and Lu Wei-chih another shot behind at the jointly-sanctioned European Tour and the Asian Tour event.

Poulter also shot a 66 while Lu, who held a share of the overnight lead, carded a 69 after a double bogey on the par-5 third hole.

Poulter flew in late to Hong Kong after accepting a last-minute berth vacated by American Richard Beem so that he could fulfill his obligatory 13 tournaments this season to keep his European Tour membership. So far, he’s not showing any sign of jet lag.

“I played nicely again today and had a decent second day,” Poulter said. “I’m feeling a bit tired but playing good and I’m right there in the mix. It’s nice to be in this position.”

Dustin Johnson was the biggest name to miss the cut after a 72, which put him one stroke above cut level of even par.

“I played terribly. I didn’t drive it good and didn’t hit my irons good. I didn’t do anything good really,” Johnson said.

Also missing the cut was former major winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland (72), defending champion Scott Hend of Australia (74) and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (73). Jimenez was chasing a fifth Hong Kong title.

HONG KONG – Andrea Pavan of Italy made four birdies on his last six holes to take a share of the lead after the first round of the Hong Kong Open with a 6-under 64.

Pavan was tied with Lu Wei-chih of Taiwan, a stroke ahead of a trio that included Justin Rose of England. Rose made four birdies on the back nine in a bogey-free round at the Fanling Course and was tied with Taiwanese player Pan Cheng-tseung and Jeev Milka Singh of India.

Graeme McDowell was in a group of six players another shot back at the joint European Tour and Asian Tour event.

HONG KONG – With no time to spare, Ian Poulter was rushing from Florida to Hong Kong on Tuesday to keep his European Tour membership, and to save his chances of being eligible to play in the Ryder Cup next year.

And he owes it all former PGA champion Rich Beem, who gave up his spot in the Hong Kong Open.

Poulter was planning to play in the HSBC Champions in two weeks in Shanghai, part of a schedule that would allow him to reach the minimum 13 tournaments required to keep his European Tour membership.

But with Andy Sullivan winning the Portugal Masters and Emiliano Grillo winning the Frys.com Open, they moved into the top 50 and bumped out Poulter, who had to be in the top 50 this week to be eligible for the HSBC Champions. It was too late to enter the Hong Kong Open, and all the invitations had been taken.

That’s where Beem stepped in.

The European Tour said it approached Beem about the situation, and Beem agreed to let Poulter have his spot in the field.

Poulter thanked Beem on Twitter for giving up his invitation. “Where would you like to take you for dinner?” he tweeted.

This might have been more valuable than that. European Tour membership is required to play in the Ryder Cup, even the captain’s picks. Poulter has a 12-4-2 record in the Ryder Cup, and he was largely responsible for Europe’s record-tying comeback to win in Medinah in 2012.

Getting the spot in Hong Kong was only part of the drama. Poulter needed a visa, and that was only returned to him about two hours before he boarded a flight from Orlando to New York to make the connection to Hong Kong.

“A mad 24 hours,” Poulter said on Instagram. “Never dull in the Poulter saga.”

Poulter was due to arrive in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon, meaning he will not see the golf course until it begins on Thursday. He is a past champion of the event, and in this situation, simply starting the tournament is more important than his performance. He said he would hire a local caddie for the week.

Poulter monitors the world ranking as close as any player and did not see a scenario where he would drop five spots to No. 51.

“You could say poor play and poor planning,” he said on Instagram. “But thanks to Rich for giving me his spot.”

Beem, who also works as an analyst for Sky Sports, planned to join the European Tour Productions commentary team for the Hong Kong Open.

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – The British Open is heading across the Irish Sea for the first time in nearly 70 years, with Royal Portrush announced Tuesday as the 2019 venue for golf’s oldest major championship.

Royal Portrush staged the British Open in 1951, when Max Faulkner of England lifted the claret jug. That is the only time the event has been held outside England or Scotland.

The push to bring the Open back to Northern Ireland gained momentum after three players from country – Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy – won majors since 2010. McIlroy is now a four-time major champion and one of the world’s best players.

The R&A said last year that Royal Portrush was returning to the Open rotation, but didn’t give a year and said there would be logistical challenges to get the venue in shape.

The Dunluce course has been given the first available slot on the calendar.

“Royal Portrush is one of my favorite golf courses in the world,” said McIlroy, the British Open champion in 2014. “I think it will be a fantastic Open venue.”

The R&A said it is expected to be the biggest sporting event ever held in Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish lawmakers predicted an economic boost of 70 million pounds ($108 million).

Royal Portrush held an extremely successful Irish Open in 2012, attracting some 130,000 fans for the week. It has also held the Senior British Open six times.

Work to create two new holes – Nos. 7 and 8 – on the Dunluce Links is underway, using land from the adjacent Valley Course to develop a new par-5 hole. Those new holes will replace the current 17th and 18th holes, freeing up land to be used to accommodate the spectator village and other infrastructure.

The length of the course will increase by just less than 200 yards to 7,337 yards, and the number of bunkers will be increased by three to 62. That still leaves Royal Portrush with the fewest bunkers of any of the courses on the British Open rotation.

“We are delighted with the progress being made on the course preparations and they will undoubtedly enhance the challenge presented by these historic links,” said Peter Unsworth, chairman of the R&A’s championship committee.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – Andy Sullivan of England easily won the Portugal Masters on Sunday after extending his lead to finish nine strokes ahead.

Sullivan had a five-stroke lead as he entered the final round at the Oceanico Victoria course, which started late due to heavy overnight rain. He increased that margin by hitting five birdies for a flawless 5-under 66 to finish with a total of 23-under 261.

It was the 28-year-old Sullivan’s third European Tour win after victories at the South African Open and the Joburg Open earlier this year.

Fellow countryman Chris Wood finished second, followed one more stroke back by a three-way tie for third of Anthony Wall, Trevor Fisher Jr. and Eduardo de la Riva.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – England’s Andy Sullivan shot a 4-under 67 in windy conditions to take a five-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at the Portugal Masters.

Sullivan had six birdies in the third round on Saturday, when tee times were moved forward because of severe weather.

The Englishman said his score was “awesome in that horrible weather.”

“I thought I handled myself well. I didn’t really feel like I’d done much wrong out there today,” Sullivan said. “I think every part of my game is in good touch, and I didn’t really ever leave myself too much to do.”

Sunday’s final round at the Oceanico Victoria course will also start earlier than scheduled because of weather.

“More of the same hopefully,” Sullivan said. “Just go out there and do my thing, and hopefully come in and sign for a good score again.”

Sullivan, who won the South African Open earlier this year, shot 64 on each of the first two days and is 18 under for the tournament.

Eduardo de la Riva of Spain is second after a 3-under 68 put him on 13 under.

“Five shots is a lot and he’s playing very, very well,” De la Riva said of Sullivan. “If the day is like this, it can be possible with a very low round.”

Spain’s Jorge Campillo and Chris Wood of England were tied for third at 11 under, seven shots back.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – England’s Andy Sullivan carded a 7-under 64 for a second straight day to take a three-shot lead at the Portugal Masters on Friday.

Sullivan, who shared the overnight lead with Nicolas Colsaerts, hit seven birdies in a flawless second round at the Oceanico Victoria course for a 14-under total of 128.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters is second on 11 under, while Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria are four strokes behind Sullivan.

Play is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. local time Saturday due to a bad weather forecast. Last year’s edition was reduced to 36 holes.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium shot a seven-under-par 64 to claim a share of the lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura on Thursday.

The 32-year-old former Ryder Cup player shares the lead with Andy Sullivan of England, who matched Colsaerts’ score after hitting eight birdies and one bogey.

Just behind the lead pair are Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, David Drysdale of Scotland, Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Thomas Aiken of South Africa, all on six under par 65.

Colsaerts hit two eagles and four birdies, and could have improved on his clubhouse score had he not dropped one shot.

WOBURN, England – Matthew Fitzpatrick signaled his emergence as one of Europe’s most prominent young golfers on Sunday, shooting a 3-under 68 to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the British Masters at Woburn for his first professional title.

The 21-year-old Englishman, playing his first full professional season on the European Tour, shot five birdies in his final round to win by two strokes and finish on a 15-under total of 269.

“I honestly did not think I was going to win this year,” Fitzpatrick said, even though he finished second in the European Masters in Switzerland in July. “A wire-to-wire victory is unbelievable for me, I really feel that is an amazing achievement. I dreamt of doing it but I never thought I would be good enough.”

Fitzpatrick’s front nine was quiet and unspectacular, making seven pars, a bogey and a birdie on the fourth to go out in 35 shots for par.

But the 2013 U.S. amateur champion shifted gears on the back nine with four birdies.

“It was frustrating after the front nine, I could not get anything going,” Fitzpatrick said. “But the back nine, I started brightly and it felt like I was swinging it a little bit better and I managed to pull it off.”

Fitzpatrick was jostling for the lead with Soren Kjeldsen (69) at the top of the leaderboard on the closing stretch and they both missed putts for the outright lead within minutes of each other on Nos. 13 and 14.

Fitzpatrick saw an eight-footer slide another two feet beyond the hole on the 13th, which he returned for par, while Kjeldsen spurned a straight one from 12 feet moments after on the 14th.

It was Kjeldsen, 19 years Fitzpatrick’s senior, who crumpled under the pressure.

On the par-5 15th, he gave himself a 30-foot putt for eagle, but an excessive swing saw his ball race off the green. The 40-year-old Dane rescued par, before a wild and wayward tee shot on No. 16 settled in the rough, behind the base of a tree.

He escaped, but failed to get up and down for par from 60 feet, by which point Fitzpatrick had demonstrated his composure to surge two shots clear.

After Fitzpatrick escaped from a fairway bunker on the 15th, a resplendent approach with his 8-iron from 175 yards settled 20 feet before the flag. On the same green that had troubled Kjeldsen moments before, the youngest player in the field rolled the ball firmly into the center of the cup for birdie.

On the par-3 17th, Fitzpatrick’s tee shot finished eight feet from the pin for a routine birdie before a bogey on the 18th.

Kjeldsen ended tied for second on 13 under alongside Paraguay’s Fabrizo Zanotti (69) and Bridgestone Invitational winner Shane Lowry (67) of Ireland.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who started the day tied for the lead with Fitzpatrick, carded a 1-over 72 and was tied fifth on 11 under.