Marco Penge will take a one stroke lead into the final day of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A as he moved a step closer to securing promotion to the DP World Tour at Club de Golf Alcanada.
The Englishman, who entered the week in 24th position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, battled tough conditions in Alcúdia to sign for a level par third round of 72 and remain on seven under par, one ahead of Frenchman Tom Vaillant in second place.
Penge and Vaillant started the day in a share of the lead, but after the Frenchman double bogeyed the third and bogeyed the 12th, it looked like Penge would have a commanding lead heading into the final day. However, Vaillant bounced back with two birdies in his final four holes to close the gap to one.
Penge, who is projected to climb into the Number One spot on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, would become the 12th Englishman to win the Challenge Tour Rankings and second in a row following Nathan Kimsey’s Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final and Rankings double last year.
Vaillant is projected to climb 21 places to 12th in the Rankings and secure promotion to Europe’s top tier. The top 21 on the Rankings at the conclusion of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final will earn DP World Tour playing privileges for 2024.
France’s Frederic Lacroix sits in third place on two under par following a two over par round of 74 as the wind swirled on the coastal layout, and he is projected to climb 12 places to 13th in the Rankings.
England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson sits in fourth place on one under par and is projected to climb six places into 20th position on the Rankings, while countryman Sam Bairstow is a shot further back in fifth.
Conor Purcell will need something special if he is to claim a DP World Tour card tomorrow and break into the top-20 in the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
The Portmarnock man is one-over-par and in a share of sixth place which has him projected to move from 36th to 32nd in the rankings.
Purcell carded a third round 74 after dropping four shots in three holes around the turn but gave himself hope of a late, late show with a brilliant fightback that saw him card birdies on 13 and 15 in yet another strong back nine this week.
The final round of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final will get under way at 8:32am local time, with Penge teeing off alongside Vaillant and Lacroix in the final group at 11.30am.
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