Rather remarkably, 20 players will go into Sunday within four shots of the lead, including Rory McIlroy, who produced a box-office finish, sending the patrons into delirium on the 18th by making an eagle to move within two shots of the pace-setting duo at 11 under par.
McIlroy equalled four other players – Adam Scott, Joaquin Niemann, Davis Bryant and Kristoffer Reitan – to finish tied for sixth on the leaderboard through 54 holes.
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In windy conditions, Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey and American duo Johannes Veerman and JJ Spaun had all been tied with Celli and Elvira at 12 under par late in the third round.
Del Rey and Veerman had enjoyed epic days on the course, each shooting low scores of eight-under 64 to shoot up the leaderboard.
Celli, however, rose to make four birdies on his back nine, to jump above the chasing pack, alongside Elvira, and benefitted from an incredible bit of luck on his last hole, after his approach shot ricocheted off a wooden bulkhead lining the stream and somehow missed the water, instead skirting into the greenside bunker. From there he would make birdie to card a third-round 69.
“I’m very happy because today was very tough,” the 26-year-old Italian said. “It was windy out there. So I’m happy with how I handled the situation. Sometimes the wind changed a bit, so it wasn’t easy.
“I was very patient through the front nine because I knew that on the back nine, I could have like more chances to make some birdies.”
Elvira also made a birdie on his last hole, to post a four-under 68, and said he “feels ready” to claim his debut tournament on the DP World Tour.
“I’ve been playing well the last few weeks,” Elvira said. “Obviously the results haven’t been coming my way, but I just managed to stay patient this week and just have fun.”
Plenty of other high-profile players also remain firmly in contention at the top of a bunched leaderboard, with Robert MacIntyre impressing to go five under through what was a flawless, bogey-free back nine, as he rose to tied-11th at 10 under par, alongside Ludvig Åberg, Ryan Fox, Matt Wallace and Sam Bairstow.
“That was a grind out there,” Scott said. “I saw all these good scores up on the board, but it didn’t feel like that was really doable.
“It was one step forward and a couple of steps back out there. Very hard to get in a rhythm. Hard to feel like you had a number where you could attack.”
Elsewhere, first round co-leader Aaron Rai struggled to advance his score on Saturday, as he finished his day at nine under par. Matt Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, surged up the leaderboard to tie his compatriot, Rai, three back from the lead, alongside halfway leader Ryan Gerard, Alex Noren and Jordan Smith.
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