Sharvin and Grehan hit route 66
Cormac Sharvin. Picture: Jimmy Penrose
Challenge Tour — Ardglass' Cormac Sharvin and Tullamore's Stuart Grehan fired five-under 66s to make a move into the top 30 in the KPMG Trophy in Belgium
Seeking more consistency in his game, Sharvin made five birdies in an outward 31 before finishing with nine pars to move up 25 places to tied 17th on 10-under.
He's nine shots behind Welshman Stuart Manley (39), who shot a bogey-free 65 at L’Empereur Golf & Country Club to claim a two-shot lead over Sweden’s Anton Karlsson, who signed for a seven under par 64, on 19-under
Grehan birdied the second, third, fifth and seventh before following a bogey at the par-three eighth with an eagle two at the 335-yard ninth to match Sharvin's outward 31.
He too finished with nine pars to move up 25 spots to tied 26th on nine-under
Manley, who has just one bogey this week, remained patient after a relatively slow start and was pleased to remain at the top of the pile after 54 holes.
“I’m pretty happy to back up my first two rounds,” he said. “After the first two rounds, it’s never easy with everyone trying to chase you down, so I’m very pleased.
“I got off to a bit of a slow start again and I three-putted number three, which was annoying, but I got a good birdie on four. I just stayed patient, picked off a few birdies here and there and kept it steady. I kept the bogeys off the card and ended up with a 65.
“I don’t think anyone really fired a low one at me. Karlsson obviously shot a 64 but he was coming from a little further back. I stayed patient and tried to plot my way around the golf course.
“I tried to make a few birdies and that’s all my game plan was really, just to keep going forward.”
Swede Karlsson, whose 64 was the joint low round of the day alongside Jack Singh Brar, is two shots off the lead on 17 under par, while first-round leader Pedro Figueiredo is a further two shots back on 15 under.
The final round of the KPMG Trophy gets underway at 9:00 am local time on Sunday, with the final group of Manley, Karlsson and Figueiredo set to tee it up at 10:50 am.
KPMG Trophy, L'Empereur Golf & Country Club (Par 71)
194 S Manley (Wal) 64 65 65,
196 A Karlsson (Swe) 65 67 64,
198 P Figueiredo (Por) 63 68 67,
199 C Del Moral (Esp) 64 66 69, M Haastrup (Den) 64 68 67, D Perrier (Fra) 68 65 66, A Knappe (Ger) 64 68 67,
200 T Linard (Fra) 68 64 68, J Singh Brar (Eng) 68 68 64, E Ferguson (Sco) 65 68 67,
201 G Migliozzi (Ita) 69 67 65, D Law (Sco) 64 65 72, P Eriksson (Swe) 69 67 65,
202 B Easton (RSA) 71 65 66, O Bekker (RSA) 68 67 67, W Besseling (Ned) 68 66 68,
203 N Johansson (Swe) 69 69 65, O Wilson (Eng) 70 66 67, E Lipparelli (Ita) 65 69 69, R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 68 66 69, J Adams (Eng) 65 69 69, T Tree (Eng) 67 69 67, C Sharvin (Nir) 70 67 66, J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 66 69, M Orrin (Eng) 69 69 65,
204 S Henry (Sco) 67 68 69, J Sjöholm (Swe) 68 66 70, J Parry (Eng) 64 72 68, B Virto (Esp) 69 67 68, J White (Eng) 70 66 68, R Kellett (Sco) 69 67 68, S Grehan (Irl) 69 69 66,
205 C Braeunig (Ger) 69 68 68, T Murray (Eng) 72 64 69, A Wennstam (Swe) 69 69 67, S Dyson (Eng) 67 70 68, M Carlsson (Swe) 66 67 72, H Leon (Chi) 67 71 67,
206 B Eccles (Aus) 68 70 68, S Forsström (Swe) 66 70 70, M Rohwer (RSA) 70 67 69, M Iten (Sui) 68 68 70, L Van Meijel (Ned) 69 69 68, M Schmitt (Ger) 68 68 70, M Lafeber (Ned) 68 68 70, R Finch (Eng) 70 67 69, B Macpherson (Aus) 69 69 68, S Soderberg (Swe) 69 66 71, O Rozner (Fra) 72 65 69,
207 U Coussaud (Fra) 67 67 73, E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 66 71 70, G Porteous (Eng) 68 69 70, K Hesbois (Bel) 68 70 69, M Trappel (Aut) 67 71 69, J Stalter (Fra) 70 68 69,
208 R Roussel (Fra) 69 69 70, J Erkenbeck (USA) 69 66 73, P Maddy (Eng) 70 65 73, B Hellgren (Swe) 68 70 70,
209 H Joannes (Bel) 68 68 73, E Dubois (Fra) 65 73 71, N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 68 69 72,
211 G Weydts Caessens (Bel) 71 67 73, J Davidson (Wal) 70 68 73, S Matus (Cze) 68 68 75,
212 O Lindell (Fin) 69 69 74,
214 A Leitmannstetter (Ger) 71 65 78.
