Ruaidhrí McGee and Alfie Plant share a two-stroke lead heading into the final day of the Blot Open de Bretagne.
McGee enjoyed a good moving day with a three under par round of 67 and will go in search of a maiden European Challenge Tour victory tomorrow.
Englishman Plant posted a one under par round of 69 and despite carding three birdies, he was forced to settle for a nine under par total after bogeying two of his final three holes at Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André.
The leading duo are closely followed by overnight leader Robin Sciot-Siegrist, who sits in third place on seven under par.
Plant will look to secure his second Challenge Tour title on French soil after he claimed an emotional victory last season at the Hopps Open de Provence.
Ireland’s McGee, who posted a sensational nine under par round of 61 on the opening day, is teeing it up in only his second event on the 2022 Road to Mallorca and believes club selection is key to successfully navigating the links-style course in Brittany.
“I hit a couple of poor shots to start but luckily chipped in for birdie on the second hole,” he said. “The wind was strong out there and you have to focus on choosing the right club because it can change at any moment.
“It’s tough because I played so well in round one and you get used to seeing everything go into the hole. After hitting a few poor shots yesterday, I kept trying to push and became too aggressive. It’s important to just relax and let it happen.”
Spaniard Borja Virto sits in fourth place on six under par, while South African Luke Jerling, who posted a six under par round of 64, German Freddy Schott, home favourite Ugo Coussaud and Englishman David Dixon share fifth place on five under.
Round three scores (Irish players in bold):
201 R MCGEE 61 73 67, A PLANT (ENG) 65 67 69, 203 R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA) 64 67 72, 204 B VIRTO (ESP) 64 69 71, 205 L JERLING (RSA) 68 73 64, D DIXON (ENG) 67 73 65, F SCHOTT (GER) 66 71 68, U COUSSAUD (FRA) 69 68 68, 206 M ORRIN (ENG) 68 70 68, J LANDO CASANOVA (FRA) 70 64 72, 207 C BOUNIOL (FRA) 69 72 66, R DINWIDDIE (ENG) 68 70 69, B EVANS (ENG) 66 72 69, W ENEFER (ENG) 69 67 71, D MCELROY 70 65 72, 208 S GROS (FRA) 69 73 66, J FAHRBRING (SWE) 70 65 73, 209 J GARCIA (ESP) 71 71 67, T CLEMENTS (ENG) 70 71 68, P EDBERG (SWE) 72 66 71, S MANLEY (WAL) 70 67 72, 210 B RITTHAMMER (GER) 70 70 70, M LINDBERG (SWE) 68 69 73, J PRINSLOO (RSA) 67 68 75, 211 P FIGUEIREDO (POR) 72 70 69, M MANASSERO (ITA) 71 71 69, F MORY (FRA) 71 69 71, R WATTEL (FRA) 70 69 72, A SADDIER (FRA) 67 71 73, I CANTERO GUTIERREZ (ESP) 67 68 76, 212 J THOMPSON (AUS) 66 76 70, E CUARTERO BLANCO (ESP) 74 68 70, G MOYNIHAN 71 70 71, J MCDONALD (SCO) 68 71 73, A GRENIER (FRA) 68 71 73, J THOMSON (ENG) 68 70 74, S PETERSEN (SWE) 66 72 74, J KENNEGARD (SWE) 71 65 76.
