McElroy breaks into top-30 as Hebert extends lead in the Netherlands

Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy closed with back-to-back birdies for a moving day 69 in the B-NL Challenge Trophy at Twentsche Golfclub.

McElroy lies in a share of 29th place on three-under-par after a round that included an eagle on the par-5 12th.

Niall Kearney carded a one-over 72 to lie on level-par.

Benjamin Hebert will take a two shot lead into the final day after posting a two under par third round of 69.

The Frenchman got off to the perfect start, opening with birdies on his first two holes, before adding two more on the fifth and seventh to reach 13 under par at the turn. Two bogeys on the back nine, on the 12th and 15th holes, meant the 36-year-old closed out the day 11 under par, two strokes clear of the chasing pack comprising of Swede Jesper Svensson, Spaniard Joel Moscatel Nachshon, South African Brandon Stone and Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick on nine under par.

Hebert, searching for a seventh win on the Challenge Tour having won three times in both 2011 and 2014, was pleased with how he managed the swirling wind at Twentsche Golfclub.

“It was very hard today,” he said. “I had a very good start. I think I was three or four under after seven holes, but the back nine was hard. It’s windy and gusty, and the course is getting firmer, so it’s very hard. You need to play with your brain.

“I just tried to stick to my plan. I think it’s been working pretty well from the start of the week. I do feel comfortable on this kind of course, so I’m just trying to keep doing the same things as the start of the tournament.”

Hebert, who could seal a wire-to-wire win and a first victory in nine years, thinks his course management has been crucial this week and is hoping for more of the same on Sunday.

“You don’t need to be very aggressive here as I think you can make big mistakes,” he said. “There are many different ways to play this course but this is the way I want to play it, and it’s working.

“Tomorrow is another day. I’m going to start my recovery now. I’ll do some putting first to get more comfortable with the speed, then have a good recovery tonight, a good night’s sleep, some meditation has helped me a lot for the last three or four years, and then tomorrow we’ll see what happens.”

The English trio of Pavan Sagoo, Alfie Plant and Ben Schmidt share sixth place on eight under par, with Englishmen David Langley and Will Enefer, American Cole Madey and German Velten Meyer in ninth, one shot further back.