Jack Singh Brar fired a 64 to equal the low-score on Moving Day and will take a three-shot lead into the Cordon Golf Open final round.
The Englishman began Day Three in a tie for sixth place, and after a steady start of eight pars and one birdie on his opening-nine holes, he had begun to slowly work his way up the jam-packed leaderboard.
The 21 year old then took flight on the inward-half, and responded to a bogey at the short, par four tenth hole with an eagle-birdie-birdie flurry that gave him sole possession of the lead.
From there, Singh Brar never looked back and added two more gains coming in to sign for a round of six under par — matching France’s Antoine Rozner for the best 18-hole return of the day.
“I think I’ve managed myself quite well around this sort of golf course,” he said. “I’ve taken my chances quite well. I’ve played safe in places where I’ve needed to play safe and then when I’ve had a good chance, I’ve taken it.”
Scoring has proven to be quite difficult on the 6, 420-yard Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André, which is providing plenty of complexity for the players as it continues to play firmer and faster each day.
“A lot of courses you can just bang driver up there and hit it as far up as possible, but I like this kind of golf,” Singh Brar said. “You have to position it off the tee and hit a good iron shot to get it close, so at the start I thought I would just play safe when you need to, and go aggressive when you have to.”
Now the, Road to Ras Al Khaimah Number 11 will attempt to finish the job as he pursues his first win on the European Challenge Tour, one which would virtually lock up his 2019 European Tour card.
“This is my first time leading going into the final round on the Challenge Tour,” he said. “But I’ve been in this position a few times in my amateur career and earlier on the Alps Tour so hopefully that’s prepared me well enough.
“My mind likes to go to the future, so obviously when it comes to my shot I’ll hopefully be in the present and then go from there.
“At the start of the year I would have dreamt to be in this position, so I’m just going to take it as it comes. If it happens it happens, and hopefully it’ll be the day for me.”
Singh Brar will have to fend off a trio of players sharing second place on nine under par — Spain’s Adri Arnaus, Welshman Stuart Manley and Steven Tiley of England.
Jérôme Lando Casanova holds low-Frenchman honours and sitting in a tie for eighth place on seven under par, he still has an outside chance of claiming victory on home soil.
The exciting conclusion to the Cordon Golf Open will begin tomorrow at 9:10 am local time, with the final grouping of Singh Brar, Manley and Tiley set to go at 11:00 am.
