Max Kennedy’s chances of claiming a first professional victory look as though they’ll have to be put on hold after a disappointing back nine saw him fall eight back at the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic.
Rounds of 67 and 68 on days one and two respectively had the Royal Dublin man lying tied for sixth at the halfway mark, and when he birdied Kaskada Golf Club’s par-4 10th to get to two-under for his moving day round, a strong finish would’ve seen him firmly in the mix going into the final round.
But a trio of bogeys on holes 13 through 15 killed all his momentum, and though he regrouped to par his way home, he ended up with a one-over 72 that dropped him back to -6 and into a tie for 21st.
Conor Purcell managed to better Kennedy’s round by one, but the level-par 71 leaves him back in a share of 47th at -2, while Mark Power struggled to a 75 that dropped him into a tie for 62nd.
At the top of the leaderboard, Callum Tarren, Anton Albers and Hamish Brown are all tied at 14-under with a one-stroke gap over the chasing pack.
Tarren, who held a three-stroke lead heading into the third round, mixed four birdies with two bogeys to card a third round 69. Hamish Brown made his seventh birdie of the day on the 17th to move one clear but dropped his second shot of the afternoon on the 18th to move back to 14 under par, a target Albers had earlier set with his second 66 of the week.
Despite not taking advantage of scorable conditions on moving day at Kaskáda Golf Resort, Tarren is pleased with his performance in the opening three rounds.
“It’s been pretty solid, really,” he said. “A lot of birdies, a couple of mistakes here and there, but I’m just disappointed with today’s round not to press on a little bit more.
“After yesterday, I gave myself a target of 20 under par, I thought eight under par for the weekend to reach that number. If I shoot five or six under par tomorrow, you never know what could happen.
“I’ve got to keep doing what I’m doing and giving myself chances, and hopefully I’ll be in a good spot at the end of the day tomorrow.”
Albers started the day as one of four players three shots behind overnight leader Tarren and was pleased to make up ground on the Englishman, with an eagle on the first setting up a bogey free round on moving day.
“It’s always nice to stay bogey free,” he said. “I hit some nice shots, and I’m pleased with how it went.
“My long game was very good, there was only two holes where I was out of position and I managed to recover from those, it was very solid overall.
“I’m confident with my game this week. I’m just trying to keep that going into tomorrow and then see how it unfolds.
“I didn’t get the start I wanted on the Road to Mallorca, especially after coming close to getting my DP World Tour card. It was nice to have an off week last week and have a reset. There is just under half of the season and I’m hoping to go and finish strong.”
Brown has fond memories of Kaskada Golf Club, having won the 2024 edition of this week’s event, and is feeling right at home this week, with just two dropped shots in round two and three combined.
“All in all, I’m very happy,” he said. “The wind was a little different today which makes the par fives a little bit harder and the par fours a little bit easier in places.
“I’m trying to take more ownership of my game, instead of doing what the golf course tells you to.
“I like the course. I don’t think I can dwell too much on what I’ve done before. It’s nice knowing you’ve done it before.
“Obviously everyone is trying to win, I’m not too focused on that, I play best when I don’t focus too much on that.
“When I’m standing on the 18th fairway tomorrow, you never know. It could be a good day”
The trio hold a one-stroke lead over Japan’s Tatsunori Shogenji who occupies solo fourth on thirteen under par, two strokes ahead of Denmark’s Kristan Hjort Bressum, America’s Alex Goff, Italian Matteo Cristoni and Germany’s Marc Hammer in fifth.
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