Mark Power and John Gough share a one-stroke lead heading into the final day of the HotelPlanner Tour’s Rosa Challenge Tour in Konispka.
Gough, starting the day seven strokes behind overnight leader Ryan Lumsden, signed for his second six-under-par 64 of the week to take his total to nine under, whilst Power posted a 68 to join the Englishman in a tie at the top.
Blot Play9 winner Gough opened his round with a bogey but bounced back instantly, making two gains in his next three holes to get back into the red number.
The 27-year-old made another birdie at the ninth, sparking a fantastic run of five in six holes, before four consecutive pars saw the Englishman take the clubhouse lead.
“I needed it,” he said. “It was a little bit slower out there today, but a run like those really helps.
“I started the day with a bogey, but I feel like I played really solid after that. I had a few putts drop and I hit it quite close all day, so I was very happy with that today.”
Gough currently sits in 17th spot on the Road to Mallorca, and a positive result this week would see him move inside the top 15 on the season-long Rankings.
He will be hoping the course where he has seen success at before can play a part in finding his second win of the season.
“I really like the course, I had a nice result here last year. Yesterday didn’t go to plan but we’re in a good spot now. Hopefully that’s my bad one out of the way.
“If I play like I did today, it could be quite nice come the end of play tomorrow.”
Power started the day on seven under par and mixed three birdies with a bogey on moving day to catch the target Gough had earlier set and move into a share of the lead.
With the wind becoming a major factor, he admitted the course presented a very different test compared to the first 36 holes.
“It was tough with the wind,” Power said. “It was gusty at times, so we really had to flight shots in well and accept that it might catch the wind.
“It was hard to be perfect today and I hung in well.”
Despite the conditions, Power was pleased with how he managed his game overall and plans to take a similar approach into Sunday.
“I really embraced the conditions, because you really have to hit it strong. If it blows again tomorrow, I’ll be happy enough.
“I’ve been hitting the ball good so there is no reason why I can’t keep going.
“I feel my game has been there, it’s actually something that I’ve really tried to do this week, to take things on a little bit more.
“I’ve tried to play a bit more aggressive at times and embrace being uncomfortable and try to keep my foot down.”
Scotland’s Lumsden is joined by Englishman Andrew Wilson, Frenchman Julien Brun and Denmark’s Victor Sidal Svendsen in a tie for third on eight under, one stroke clear of Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen, Englishman Callum Tarren, German Philipp Katich and Denmark’s Kristan Hjort Bressum who share seventh.
Gary Hurley is next best of the Irish at four-under. The Waterford man actually got to six-under with birdies on the third, seventh, and 13th, but two dropped shots over the closing five saw him slip back to -4 and sharing 19th.
Ronan Mullarney, the only other Irishman to make the cut, shot a five-over 75 to fall to +4.
The final round of the Rosa Challenge Tour gets underway at 7:40am local time on Sunday morning, with Gough and Power teeing off alongside Wilson at 11:42am.
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