Ronan Mullarney is on course for the best HotelPlanner Tour finish of his career after a third-round 69 moved him to nine-under and into a share of 23rd place going into the final round at Golf Nazionale.
The Galway man struggled in his maiden campaign in 2024 but made his way back via the Alps Tour and, in just his second start of the year, is just three shots off a place in the top 10.
Back-to-back rounds of 69 saw him safely through to the weekend and he added a third for good measure, making three birdies on the front side before trading a birdie and a bogey on the back and if he can produce something similar on Sunday then he’ll be close to a top-20 finish and perhaps close to a top-10 if he can pick up another stroke or two.
James Sugrue was the only other Irishman to make the cut and he had an eventful day, making six birdies and four bogeys to post a two-under 70 that leaves him tied for 50th in what is also just his second start of 2026.
At the top of the leaderboard, Chris Wood and Barclay Brown share a one-stroke lead heading into the final round.
Brown’s five-under-par third-round of 67 was one better than Wood’s 68 as the pair reached -16 for the week, one-stroke clear of Portugal’s Tomás Gouveia.
Both leaders are making their first start on the 2026 Road to Mallorca, and Wood says he is relishing being in contention so early in the season.
“I did a lot of things really well today,” he said. “I’m pleased with how I went about it. I didn’t know how far off the lead I was.
“A lot of the practice I’ve been doing is transferring to the course, and it’s brilliant practice to be in contention in an event because I’ve had to wait a while to have those sort of feelings.
“It’s exciting to feel like you’re in the mix going into tomorrow. The feelings you get of being in contention can feel quite hard but you’d much rather be in that situation than further down the leaderboard.”
It was the front nine that vaulted Wood into the lead with four birdies meaning he turned in just 32 strokes.
Although Wood will be looking for his maiden HotelPlanner Tour win tomorrow, he is focused more on the long term.
“It would be a great start if I could win tomorrow,” he added. “But if I go through the same process as the last three days, and things don’t go my way tomorrow, then they will over the next three, six months.”
It was a slow start for co-leader Brown, but five birdies in his last seven holes, including on the par five 18th, saw the 25-year-old move alongside Wood at the top.
Brown, who has been playing on the Alps Tour this year, relied on an invite into this week’s event and has the chance to secure full HotelPlanner Tour playing rights on Sunday.
“It would be nice to get a win tomorrow,” he said.
“It would be nice really to just have another good day and keep playing well. Any good finish would help me so I’m just trying to keep hitting good golf shots.”
“I had to weather the storm early on but I found some form on the back nine and was able to capitalise on pretty much all the chances I gave myself for a good finish.
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