Li's erratic driving robs him of strokes

China's Li Haotong left himself with plenty of work to do in his bid to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour following a 2-over 74 in Saturday's third round at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

After opening with a solid 69 on Thursday, the 23-year-old slipped down the leaderboard into a tie for 44th at 1-under 215.

Germany's Martin Kaymer had the lead at 201 after three rounds.

Li is chasing a strong finish at Muirfield Village to secure temporary status on the main PGA Tour, which would enable him to receive unrestricted invitations for the remainder of this season in his bid to earn full playing rights for next season.

He needs a solo 22nd, a three-way tie for 21st or a five-way tie for 20th to accomplish the feat and to subsequently earn his PGA Tour card as a non-member.

Li currently has 225 FedEx Cup points and needs to equal or better the points earned by the 125th ranked player on the FedEx Cup points list at the end of this season.

On Saturday, he paid dearly for erratic driving that saw him hit just seven fairways. He had one double bogey, three bogeys and just three birdies.

Two-time major champion Kaymer, without a win since his eight-shot victory at the 2014 US Open, notched six birdies en route to a flawless 6-under-par 66 on the Muirfield Village course.

"We can all play good golf, and it's quite nice for tomorrow because no one is really holding back," Kaymer said.

"I think you only hold back if you don't know the situation because then you don't know how to react and you play safe, defensive. No one is playing like that in the top groups."

Adam Scott, another former No 1, continued a recent resurgence. The Australian matched Kaymer's 66 to sit two strokes back of the leader.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama had the day's best score, chipping in for birdie from lush rough on the final hole for a 64 that lifted him within four strokes of Kaymer.

Americans Jordan Spieth (69) and Patrick Cantlay (68) were also four behind.

China Daily - Agencies