| Gustafsson and Higley tied for the lead in Ireland
Sweden’s Peter Gustafsson and England’s Marcus Higley produced masterful back nines to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the Challenge of Ireland presented by Glasson after both carded six under par rounds of 66.
Gustafsson shot six birdies after the turn while Higley managed four as both players put themselves in contention on seven under par going into the final round at Glasson Golf Hotel and Country Club.
Higley had also birdied the first and sixth holes while Gustaffson recovered after dropping a shot on the second hole with a birdie on six before both players stepped it up a gear on the way in.
For Gustaffson in particular the birdie on the tenth which sparked his run was particularly special as he had teed off the tournament on Thursday there with a treble bogey.
Having suffered from a neck problem for the past two years, the 31 year old is eyeing a maiden victory after two second places finishes on The European Tour in 205, including an agonising one stroke defeat to Sergio Garcia at the Omega European Masters.
He said:” I made six birdies on the back nine which was good for the confidence. I’ve been working a lot this year on my neck and my swing. I had a problem with my neck for two years and then I decided also to get my fitness in order. It’s been an up and down sort of a year. Now for the first time I feel like I am swinging well.
“It would mean a lot to me to win mostly for the confidence. I’ve been shooting some low scores but I haven’t won on the Challenge Tour or the main Tour. I played well even when I shot three over par in the first round but it came together on the back nine today.”
Like Gustafsson, Higley is also trying to reclaim his card for The European Tour and knows a win would all but seal his place in the top 10 of the Challenge Tour Rankings.
He said: “I’ve finished second twice this year both in France. If I could win one it would be great as I’ve got about €50,000 and it would really help with the Order of Merit. It’s tough to tell what you’ll need but you have your own goals of what you want to get to and if I could win here it would take me to that so it would be a big step but there’s 18 holes left to play so a lot of golf.”
Another Swede, Jonas Blixt, fired the best round of his fledgling professional career to surge up the leaderboard with a stunning 66. Blixt turned professional just before the Barclays Scottish Open last month and is playing in only his second European Challenge Tour event but showed no inexperience as he carded a bogey-free six under par round.
He said: “The conditions were a lot nicer for me today and I took advantage of it. It’s my best round as a professional. It was a solid round. I drove the ball well and gave myself a lot of birdie chances. I could have gone a couple of shots lower but it’s quite windy at times.”
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