Cormac Sharvin notched six birdies on his way to a four-under par 68 on moving day at the Rolex Trophy in Switzerland but he’ll have his work cut out if he’s to catch runaway leader, Ricardo Santos.
The 26-year old carded his first bogey of the week at his 47th hole, the ninth today, and just like the buses, two came along at once as he dropped another shot at the 10th.
He was able to recover with three birdies on the way in but Santos was relentless out in front, with Sharvin trailing second place by a single shot but needing to make up five on the leader.
Currently sitting in ninth place amongst the top-15 spots that will be assured of European Tour graduation next season, a high finish would be most timely for the Northern Irishman as he continues to chase his Main Tour dream.
Standing in everyone’s way is Santos who will take a four-shot lead into the final round as he goes in search of his second Swiss win of the 2019 European Challenge Tour season at Golf Club de Genève.
The 36-year-old won the Swiss Challenge Presented by Swiss Golf in June and is in pole position to seal a second victory in Switzerland after recording an eight under par round of 64 to lead at the end of day three.
Santos, who shot opening rounds of 67-66 without dropping a shot, continued his excellent form at the Geneva layout by signing for another bogey-free round. The Portuguese star made four birdies in six holes from the par three third hole to join the early leaders on day three.
He then surged into the lead on the back nine, starting with a birdie at the tenth hole before gaining two further shots at the 12th and 15th.
Even after finding the water hazard off the tee at the 16th hole, he remained unfazed, getting up-and-down for a par before making his eighth birdie of the day at the par three 17th.
With 18 holes to play and a four-shot advantage over the field, Santos is looking forward to the chance of more glory on Swiss soil.
“Sure, it would be great,” he said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.
“It was an amazing day. I played even better than the first two days, so I’m really happy with my game.
“I stood on the 16th tee box with driver in my hand and I thought it was probably too much, because I would be able to reach the bunkers and then it is not an easy shot. But on the first two days I didn’t reach the bunkers with my driver, so I thought I would grip down and hit it normally but then I had that thought in my mind.
“In the end I cut the ball too much and went into the water, but it was a good up-and-down to save par.
“I will try and stay calm like I have done until now. I will go out and play my game and see what happens tomorrow.”
Hill, who has won twice during the 2019 Challenge Tour season, is going in search of his third win, and with that, immediate promotion to the European Tour. He followed up his opening rounds of 67-66 with a four under par 68 to sit four shots back in a share of second place with Darius van Driel.
The final round at the Rolex Trophy will begin at 7:30am local time with Santos teeing off at 1:30pm.
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