Max Kennedy and James Morrison battled tough conditions at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André to share a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Blot Play9.
Irishman Kennedy carded a two under par round of 68, while overnight leader Morrison posted a four over par 74 as the duo finished on six under, one ahead of Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist.
Kennedy, who set a new course-record on Thursday with his ten under par 60, followed it up with a six over par 76 in round two, however he was pleased with his ability to recover on moving day and retain his position at the top of the leaderboard.
“The first round was phenomenal, and golf felt very easy at that point,” he said. “The second round I was all over the place but had to grind hard to shoot six over. I played some great golf today in very difficult conditions and luckily, I’m still in the hunt.
“I knew I was hitting it quite well and I managed to stay in the zone. I had to really take the ball flight down and I hit some great shots into the wind.”
Co-leader Morrison highlighted accuracy off the tee as being key to success this week as high winds made scoring difficult on the coastal layout in Brittany, with just nine players heading into the final round under par.
“It was very tricky today and plus four is really the equivalent of level par today,” he said. “The course was brutal, and it felt like the U.S. Open of HotelPlanner Tour golf. Accuracy was so important today because it’s so firm, so windy and if you hit anywhere offline you are in the bush.
“It would mean everything to win tomorrow. I’m very proud of myself to get back to where I am today and I’m going to go out there and give it my best on the final day.”
Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy sits in fourth position on four under par, while Wouter De Vries from the Netherlands is a shot further back in fifth.
Sweden’s Hugo Townsend and Indian Saptak Talwar share sixth on two under par, one ahead of South African Oliver Bekker, who carded a five under 65, and Frenchman Damien Perrier in eighth.
The final round will get under way at 7:00am local time, with Morrison, Kennedy and Sciot-Siegrist teeing it up in the final group at 11:05am.
