Defending champ Robertson leads Scottish PGA by four heading into final round

Graeme Robertson fortified his position at the top of the leaderboard and stayed on course for back-to-back wins in the Loch Lomond Whiskies’ Scottish PGA Championship.

With a gusting wind adding plenty of menace and mischief to the East Course at Dalmahoy, Robertson recovered from a shaky outward half with a back-nine rally to post a two-under 71 for a 12-under aggregate.

That gave Robertson a commanding four-shot lead over Cameron Marr, Chris Maclean and Taylor Kerr as the Grangemouth pro aims to become the first player since Ross Drummond in 1990 to successfully defend the national title.

Leading by two overnight, Robertson spurned a good chance on the opening hole when he three-putted from 20-feet for a par.

The 36-year-old then stuttered to the turn in two-over but a brace of birdies at the 10th and 11th sparked a resurgence and Robertson made two more gains on the run-in to open up a healthy advantage.

“After that three-putt on the first, everything seemed to go wrong on the front-nine,” said Robertson, who also won the prestigious Northern Open earlier this season.

“But I knuckled down, put it behind me and tried to focus on having a good back nine. I always remember Dean Robertson (former Scottish PGA champion) saying to me years ago that you can have one bad nine holes and still win a tournament.

“I said that to myself going on to the 10th tee and just tried to forget about the front nine. Fortunately, I played well coming in.”

Robertson may be in a strong position at the summit, but the reigning champion is not taking anything for granted.

“It would mean everything to win this again,” he added. “But anything can happen on this course. Somebody could easily get off to a flyer and put the pressure on. But I don’t look at leaderboards. I’ve a target in my head of what score I want to reach so I’ll just play to that and hopefully it’s enough.”

Kingsfield pro Marr has cut back on his competitive outings to due to work and family commitments, but he kept himself in the hunt with a two-under 71 for an eight-under total.

“I had a top-10 in the Scottish PGA at Gleneagles when I was an assistant a few years ago but I’m looking to aim higher on Friday,” said Marr. “This is the one we all want to win.”

Maclean, who is making his debut in the national championship, made an early assault on Robertson at the top when he flighted a terrific 3-wood into 15-feet on the first and holed the putt for an eagle-three.

After that barnstorming opening, the Hayston assistant had to battle to preserve his place in the upper echelons but a spirited one-under 72 kept him in a share of second.

“I thought I was on to a winner after the first hole,” he said. “But it was tough today and I had to scrap coming in. To be honest, I hit it great for the first 14 holes and holed nothing, then hit it terribly for the last four holes and holed everything. That’s golf.”

Kerr, another championship debutant, also showed his resilience on a tough day and a level-par 73 kept him clinging to the coattails of Robertson.

“I think level-par was probably about right,” said the 22-year-old, who did hold the lead for a spell on the front nine but slipped back when he three-putted the 12th for a double-bogey.

“It’s great to be involved in the pressure moments of going for a championship win and hopefully I can just stick to what I’ve been doing and enjoy the final day.”

East Renfrewshire’s Gavin Hay picked up a birdie on 16 and an eagle on the 18th in a five-under 68 which propelled him into a share of fifth on seven-under alongside the 64-year-old veteran, Andrew Oldcorn.

Craig Lee, who has been runner-up five times in the Scottish PGA Championship, moved up to seventh with a 71 for six-under while Gareth Wright, the champion in 2014 and 2016, barged his way into the top-10 with a best-of-the-day 66.

The Welshman, who made the halfway cut on the three-over limit, packed all seven of his birdies into his first 10 holes as he moved onto a four-under total.

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