Max Kennedy caught fire on day three of the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate in South Africa, and the Dubliner climbed into a share of 12th place, one shot ahead of Liam Nolan as the leading two Irish performers on the circuit in 2025 look set to back up their rookie seasons with more of the same.
Rounds of 69 and 72 left Kennedy on three-under par after 36 holes which was enough to see him make the cut by the bare minimum, but after two birdies on the front nine on day three, he sprang into life on the back nine, reeling off birdies on 10, 12, 14 and 16, with the highlight – an eagle-three – coming on 15.
This left him at 11-under for the tournament and provisionally in second place on the leaderboard, but a bogey on the par-5 closing hole took off a little gloss and he ended the day tied for 12th and five off the lead.
Nolan opened with a level-par 72, but followed with rounds of 67 and 68 respectively to move to nine-under and into a share of 19th.
The Galway man hasn’t made a bogey since the 16th hole of round one, and he signed off his third round in style, eagling the par-5 to make a sizeable leap up the leaderboard.
Gary Hurley, the only other Irishman to make the cut, made four birdies but also made four bogeys to record a level-par 72 that leaves him tied for 58th with 18 holes to go.
At the top of the leaderboard, Baard Skogen fired two eagles in his closing four holes to move into a share of the lead alongside Maxence Giboudot heading into the final round.
Skogen tied the low round-of-the-week with an eight under par 64 on moving day to join overnight leader, Giboudot, at the top on 15 under par for the week, one clear of German Jannik de Bruyn and South African MJ Viljoen who share third.
Norwegian Skogen, who started the week with a level par round of 70, has now gone 46 holes without making a bogey.
The 24-year-old finished 33rd on the Road to Mallorca Rankings last term, in his first full year on the HotelPlanner Tour, and is excited to be in position to challenge for a breakthrough victory after a strong finish to day three.
“I’m over the moon,” he said. “It was just incredible. I got lucky down the stretch and couldn’t be more pleased.
“I hit a nice shot into 15, but it stayed just short of the ridge. The guy I played with made a very similar putt just before me, so I got lucky to make it for eagle, and then on 18, that eagle putt had some speed on it when it went it the hole, so I got lucky with that.
“It’s the first tournament of the year, but I felt like I’d done some good work over the winter and now we hopefully see the fruits of the labour.
“Who wouldn’t be excited to try to play for a win? That’s what we work for, so hopefully we can do well.
“Obviously everyone wants to win. I haven’t won as a pro and I didn’t win much in college, so it’s been a long time since I’ve won something. We’ll see tomorrow if I can do it.”
Giboudot, who held the overnight lead, signed for a four under par 68, and got off to the perfect start on day three with three birdies in a row from the second hole.
The 22-year-old dropped two shots in a three-hole stretch either side of the turn but responded by making birdies on the 13th and 15th, before a final gain on 18 saw him return to the top alongside Skogen.
The Frenchman, like Skogen, will go in search of a first HotelPlanner Tour title tomorrow, and hopes the hard work he has done in the off season pays off when play gets under way tomorrow.
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