Lorenzo Scalise posted a brilliant seven under par round of 65 to take a two stroke lead into the final round of the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge at Karnataka Golf Association.
The Italian has posted only one bogey in his last 54 holes as he reached 15 under par, two clear of Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, Englishman Ashley Chesters, Spain’s Victor Pastor and Indian Om Prakash Chouhan who share second on 13 under.
The 27-year-old, who currently sits in tenth position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, was pleased with every part of his game on moving day as he climbed into pole position on the leaderboard.
“I’m very pleased today,” he said. “I hit it great off the tee and put myself into some great positions. My putting was very good, and I only left myself short sided once. Hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow.
“On 17 I had a gap where I could see part of the green. I had 126 yards to the green and the wind was helping. I had to hit a little draw with my 54 degree wedge to get that extra ten yards. It came out hot and luckily due to the spin it was perfect.”
Scalise has made an impressive start to the 2023 Road to Mallorca with two top five finishes to his name in South Africa, however the Monza native is not getting carried and acknowledges the quality of the competition on the European Challenge Tour.
“I’ve started to the season well and obviously I’m in a good position heading into tomorrow,” he said. “My aim is to be in contention every week because you have to play consistent throughout the year if you want to finish in the top 20 and get your DP World Tour card.
“I will keep the same strategy tomorrow because what I’m doing is clearly working. You need to put yourself in good positions off the tee, hit good approach shots and then hopefully I can hole some birdie putts.”
Ireland’s Niall Kearney, Welshman Oliver Farr and Scotsman Craig Howie share sixth place on 11 under par, while Italian Lorenzo Gagli, Norwegian Elias Bertheussen, Indian Aman Raj and Scotland’s Liam Johnston are a shot further back in ninth.
The final round of the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge will get under way at 6:40am local time, with Scalise teeing it up in the final group alongside Pastor and Chouhan at 10:45am.
