The intriguing battle at the top the leaderboard in the English Challenge took a big twist as the leaders reached the turn on the third day, with Stuart Manley overtaking Robert Dinwiddie at the summit thanks to a three under par front nine.
In what is a fascinating final group, Dinwiddie entered ‘moving day’ three shots clear at Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf and Spa but only moved backwards in his opening nine holes after carding his first bogey of the tournament at the second hole.
He birdied the fourth hole to move back to level par but another dropped shot at the par three seventh hole meant he was one over through nine and on 13 under for the tournament.
Stuart Manley was one shot clear on 14 under par after a three under par front nine as the Welshman birdied the second hole before picking up three shots in two holes thanks to a birdie at the fourth before he eagled the fifth for the third time in three rounds to leapfrog Dinwiddie.
A bogey at the sixth meant they were all square again but Dinwiddie’s bogey at the seventh moved Manley clear again before a birdie at the eighth and a bogey at the ninth took him to the turn in three under.
Francis McGuirk was leading the chase from third place after three consecutive birdies from the third hole and another at the 10th meant he was four under through ten and three shots off the lead in outright third place.
