VIRGINIA WATER, England — Luke Donald put himself in position to regain the world’s No. 1 ranking, shooting a 3-under 69 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the BMW PGA Championship on Saturday.
On a day of high scoring that led course designer Ernie Els to fiercely criticize European Tour officials for the state of the greens, Donald overcame tough, windy conditions as one of only three players to break 70.
Fellow Englishman Justin Rose is alone in second after a 69, while Peter Lawrie of Ireland (72) is two shots further back at 7 under.
Donald, the defending champion, needs to finish in the top eight to take over as No. 1 from Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut after a 79 on Friday.
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