Jye Halls and Ben Eccles will head into the final round of the Ford NSW Open sharing the lead, but a challenging third day has left the door wide open for a thrilling finish at The Vintage.
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The pair began Saturday at the top of the leaderboard and finished there, both carding 2-over-par 73s in swirling winds gusting to 45kph to be at 9-under-par for the tournament.
However, with seven players now within two shots of the lead, Sunday promises to be a compelling battle for one of Australian golf’s most significant titles.
Among those looking to spoil the leaders’ party is last-start Players Series South Australia winner Adam Bland, who produced six birdies in a 68 on Saturday to move into contention for back-to-back victories.
He is at 8-under-par alongside Lachlan Aylen (72) and Declan O’Donovan (71), one clear of ACT amateur Harry Whitlock who delivered one of the day’s outstanding performances, shooting a 4-under-par 67 despite battling a persistent nosebleed for much of his round.
For Eccles, who has already experienced winning the CKB WA PGA Championship and this tournament as an amateur 11 years ago, another opportunity to contend for a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title is one he is embracing.
“I’m content with that. That’s exactly where you want to be,” Eccles said of finishing Saturday with a share of the lead.
“It was a tough day. I’m pretty spent after that, to be honest.”
The most dramatic part of round three for the frontrunners came at the par-5 seventh and par-3 eighth holes.
Halls, a former Australian Amateur champion in his rookie year as a professional, rolled in a long eagle putt while Eccles three-putted from distance, producing a change of lead with a three-shot swing.
But they both made a mess of the eighth, playing over the water and into the wind when it was at its strongest. Halls taking a triple-bogey six after his tee shot flew into trouble on the left and Eccles a five after he found the hazard to the right.
They both refused to let the setback derail their rounds, however, managing to keep the chasers at bay over the back nine.
“It’s a great spot heading into tomorrow,” Halls said.
“I would definitely have taken a co-lead going into Sunday.
“I’m sure I’ll be nervous tomorrow, a lot to play for, but it’s what you do. You practise hard to be in this position.”
Last-start winner and self-described “part-time” touring professional Bland made up plenty of ground with a birdie on the eighth, and is looking at back-to-back triumphs after waiting 11 years for his victory at Players Series South Australia.
“Obviously it sounds awesome. That’d be unbelievable,” Bland said.
“There’s a long way to go and a lot of holes to play and a lot of guys around that mark, so we’ll see how we go.”
The biggest move of the day came from ACT amateur Whitlock who had to receive medical attention during his round, but only dropped the one shot alongside five birdies.
“From pretty much the second hole of the day, I had the plug in my nose and then it happened again on 10,” he said.
“Had the paramedics walk the last six holes with me, just making sure I was okay. I got bits of sugar here and there, a couple of hydrolyte things. Just added to the challenge really.
“As if golf isn’t hard enough on a tricky golf course on a windy day anyway.”
The 19-year-old made his NSW Ford Open debut last year, making the cut, but had “a little bit of imposter syndrome” because his start came via an invite. This year, like Halls, he qualified via the regional qualifying series event at Club Catalina.
“I didn’t really feel like I belonged last year, but knowing that I earned my spot this year, it definitely feels a little bit easier,” Whitlock said.
He’ll be in the second last group on Sunday with Aylen, who battled hard on the back nine with two birdies and seven pars, to stay in the hunt, and O’Donovan, who didn’t drop a shot after running into bunker trouble on the seventh.
“Really proud. Probably a year or two ago I would’ve sooked it up after the bad start so just really toughed it out,” said Aylen, who is in contention for the second time this season after finishing T2 at the PNG Open.
“Just kept plodding along and had a decent back nine to sort of keep myself in contention after the pretty grim start.”
Further down the leaderboard is tournament drawcard Lucas Herbert (73), who surprisingly went 18 holes without a birdie until one arrived at the par-5 14th.
He sits in equal eighth place at 5-under, only four back from the leaders.
