Title destiny remains firmly in the balance

The destiny of the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship remains in the balance after it was all change for the third successive day at Blairgowrie Golf Club.

All eyes were on left-hander Chris Gane after his explosive second round on the Lansdowne Course took him to the top, however the Lefthandedgolf at Silvermere pro was unable to reproduce the fireworks.

That leaves a clutch of players in the hunt for the title, the £10,000 winner’s cheque, a Peugeot car for the year from the support sponsors and everything else that comes with winning.

Coming out of the chasing pack to sit atop a congested leaderboard are first time entrants Jason Levermore (Channels) and Chris McDonnell (Troon Golf Management) and first day joint leader Giuseppe Licata (Bristol Golf Centre).

The trio are tied on eight-under, however there are plenty of players within striking distance to take glory.

Levermore (above), a dominant force in the East Region with plenty of tour experience to boot, staked his claim with a four-under-par 68, his best score of the week.

A flawless round began with an eagle at the first but was followed up with just two more birdies at the 12^th and 17^th despite hitting 18 greens in regulation.

Having struggled in the Region recently, Levermore has sought assistance, and that has been reflected in his consistency this week. Having got to the top the Chelmsford-based pro already has his game plan as he attempts to lift the title on his debut.

“I’ve been struggling of late in the region, but I’ve had a couple of lessons in the last couple of weeks to work on a couple of bits and my game’s gradually got better as the week’s gone on.

“Tomorrow, I’ll just do what I’ve done the past few days. I’ll stick to my game plan which is in my yardage chart and look to hit the same shots as I did today. I didn’t hole a great deal so hopefully I’ll do that tomorrow and get myself in a good position.”

Fellow first timer, former Hexham professional McDonnell (above) has stayed just under the radar all week with three solid rounds, to always be in touch with leaders.

The 32-year-old, who has Alps Tour experience, carded a two-under-par 70, his ‘worst’ score of the week.

“It was a lot tougher today with the conditions with the wind and rain as it was waterproofs on waterproofs off,” he said.

“It was difficult for everyone so scoring was going to be tough. I just played pretty much the way I have all week. I started well but dropped a couple of shots and just concentrated on what I was doing.

“No one has run away with it and again I wasn’t looking at the scores on the way round. That’s really down to the last nine tomorrow.”

Licata (above), who was among the leaders on day one, returned to a share of the summit after repeating that first day 68.

And while his disappointing second round was attributed to a housemate’s coffee – fellow contender Paul Jones (Canford Magna) – his resurgence was put down to some sage words from another of his housemates this week – Minchinhampton’s Stuart Little.

“I didn’t have a good night’s sleep after the first round and so I feel a lot fresher today,” said Licata.

“I played pretty similar to the first round. I started off quite well as I was two under through six, and then, having not had a three putt all week, I three putted nine and 10.

“I called on some wise words from Stuart Little who told me to just to be patient and not get frustrated when things don’t go for you. I took that on board and birdied four holes coming in so it was pretty good advice.”

Overnight leader Gane sits one shot behind the leaders on seven-under after carding a two-over-par 74. Joining him is third round playing partner Paul Hendriksen, who carded a 73, while Andrew Willey (Bulwell Forest) is with then after he made his move with a 68.

However Jones, in seventh at six-under, can’t be discounted along with anyone else inside the top 10 as they are within four shots of the leaders.