European Tour Members Peter O’’Malley, Peter Senior and Peter Lonard remain in contention to win the Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA Championship as they trail fellow Australian James Nitties going into the final round at the Hyatt Collum on the Sunshine Coast.
Defending champion Senior and O'Malley are both knocking on the door at 12 under following rounds of 68 and 69 respectively as they lie just two shots adrift of the lead.
A big charge loomed from Senior, who started the day at eight under par and proceeded to reel off four birdies in his first seven holes to go out in 32. A mixed bag though of three birdies and three bogeys on the closing nine still has him with a chance of securing back-to-back titles.
Lonard, aiming to win a third successive title after his successes in the NSW Open and Australian Open in the last two weeks, went out in three under par 33 to get to 13 under par, but a disappointing inward nine dropping shots at the 10th and 13th holes saw him finish four stokes off the pace at 11 under par, but still very much a threat.
Nitties, 22, enjoyed some mixed fortunes on his way to a 14 under par total of 202 but maintained his one stroke advantage over American Bob Estes after both players carded a round of 70.
