Colm Moriarty of Team Ireland finished his third round at the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final in Italy with a two over par 73 and unable to recover the ground lost on Thursday – where in in tough weather conditions – he signed for a round of seventy seven.
The Glasson Golf and Country Club professional needed to pick up shots on Friday to retain hopes of a top twenty finish. However he was unable to improve on his overnight spot of 23rd and now shares 27th place ahead of the final round on Saturday.
Australian Daniel Gaunt will carry a two stroke lead into the final day when the fates of the 45 hopefuls battling for 20 European Tour cards will be decided.
After a round of 66 which moved him to six under par, Gaunt – whose life has changed immeasurably since winning the English Challenge in the summer – is now targeting a second Challenge Tour title to put the seal on a season which started with him playing on the third tier of professional golf.
Regardless of the outcome of the €300,000 event – which is being played at the stunning San Domenico Golf in Puglia, on Italy’s Adriatic coastline – Gaunt has guaranteed his graduation to The European Tour, where he will be joined by Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, currently in second place on four under par.
Gaunt, currently 12th in the Challenge Tour Rankings, said: “I’m pretty annoyed with the bogey on the last, because it’s one of the easier holes on the course. I hit a pretty average drive and then mishit my wedge, so it wasn’t the best of finishes. The only other mistake was at the 14th, but saving par meant I managed to maintain the momentum, then I holed a long putt on the 17th to build it even further. But the nature of golf’s that you forget about those and only remember the last hole, especially if it’s a bad one. Overall I have to be very pleased with a round of 66 though, especially as it takes me to the top of the leader board.
A third victory of the campaign for Wiesberger would see the big-hitting Austrian end the season as the Number One graduate, unless current Rankings leader Alvaro Velasco of Spain can finish inside the top six and so move out of reach.
After two disappointing rounds Velasco fought back valiantly with a three under par round of 68 to recover to one over par, but the Spaniard still trails Wiesberger by five strokes.
Peter Gustafsson is on three under par in a share of third place alongside England’s Matt Haines and American Christopher Ryan Baker thanks largely to a late rally in his round of 70.
The Swede’s prospects of securing the top two finish he requires in order to leap into the top 20 of the Rankings appeared to recede after bogeys at the eighth, tenth and 12th holes, but he picked two shots up on the 15th and 16th to boost his hopes of a securing a maiden Challenge Tour title and with it a place on The European Tour.
Haines stands every chance of consolidating, and even improving on, his place in the top 20 of the Rankings after a round of 69 which featured four birdies.
Baker, who won in Morocco earlier in the season, is currently in 38th place in the Rankings, and so like Gustafsson would need to finish first or second in order securing promotion to The European Tour for the first time.
Further down the leader board, the likes of England’s Charlie Ford (currently 20th in the Rankings) and Spaniard Carlos del Moral (19th) will be staring nervously over their shoulders, as respective rounds of 69 and 72 left them languishing in tied 27th and joint 21st places.
