Alexander Levy of France overcame driving rain and gusting winds to shoot a 2-under 70 at the China Open on Saturday and maintain a three-stroke lead over Alvaro Quiros of Spain heading into the final round.

Levy, aiming for his first European Tour title, birdied three straight holes on the back nine, but opened the door for Quiros with bogeys on 14 and 16.

The Spaniard couldn’t close the gap, however, making two bogeys of his own down the stretch.

Levy has a 16-under total of 200.

The Frenchman knows he will face a lot more pressure on Sunday, even with a three-stroke cushion. Last year, he was tied with Ernie Els for the lead heading into the final round of the BMW International Open, but committed four bogeys in his last nine holes to slip to third.

“I will be nervous, but because you’re nervous doesn’t mean you can’t play well,” he said. “I’ll sleep nicely because I’m tired. It was a long day with the weather and difficult golf course.”

Finland’s Mikko Ilonen was four strokes back in third place after a 67, while England’s Tommy Fleetwood (67) and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui (71) were another stroke behind in a tie for fourth.

A day after 15-year-old Chinese amateur Guan Tianlang failed to make the cut, another young homegrown talent, 18-year-old Li Haotong, shot a 67 to match the low score of the day and jump into joint eighth at 7 under.

Third-ranked Henrik Stenson, however, didn’t make up any ground on the leaders, falling 12 shots behind after shooting a 71. The Swede needed a win here to take over the top ranking from Tiger Woods – a goal that now appears well out of reach.

Terry Pilkadaris was the best of the Australians in a share of 16th after firing a bogey-free 67.