Both Max Kennedy and Paul McBride carded moving day one-under-par rounds of 71 to sit in a tie for 32nd at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union. Both players will be hoping for a strong Sunday finish in Finland and a push for a top 10 finish.
At the top, Andoni Etchenique birdied his closing three holes to take a one-shot lead into the final round. The Frenchman posted a six under par round of 66 to move to 14 under for the week, one ahead of American Nick Carlson, who signed for a sensational nine under 63, and Scotland’s David Law in second at Vierumäki Resort.
Etchenique made two birdies and a bogey on his front nine to make the turn one under for the day, before five more gains coming in saw him climb into pole position ahead of the final day where he will look to secure a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title.
“I’m really proud of myself today,” he said. “I managed to stay patient, and the putts started to drop on the final few holes which was great.
“Over the first two rounds I played well on the front nine but today I struggled a little bit. Luckily, I had a good back nine today. I had back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 and then to finish with three more was very pleasing. I’m very happy about it.
“It was very windy today and this morning the wind was blowing very hard on the first few holes. It was hard to get it close to the pins but the back nine it is a bit more sheltered from the wind so you can take advantage of some holes.”
The 27-year-old has struggled to find consistency on the 2025 Road to Mallorca but is hoping a positive result tomorrow can lead to a change in his fortunes.
“I’ve never been in this position on the HotelPlanner Tour, but I’ll try to do my best and hopefully I can keep the momentum going,” he said. “I’m going to stay patient and make a few putts and see where I end up.
“I haven’t played that well so far this season and I know I need to have a good week to give myself a chance of getting into upcoming events. It’s great to have an opportunity tomorrow and I’m going to do my best.”
Three-time PGA TOUR winner Jonas Blixt sits in fourth position on 12 under par, while England’s Alfie Plant, Saptak Talwar from India, German Anton Albers and Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy are a shot further back in fifth.
The final round will get under at 7:00am local time tomorrow with Etchenique teeing it up in the final group alongside Law and Carlson at 11:12am.
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