Daniel Nisbet has moved into the lead at the 2019 Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship presented by Toowoomba Regional Council after firing 7-under the card in round three.

Battling with overnight leader Lincoln Tighe through the early holes it was Nisbet who was able to take advantage on the back-9, closing out his round with a stellar birdie on the 18^th for a two shot lead.

“The shot into the 18^th was probably my favourite shot of the day,” said Nisbet.

“I wasn’t on a great lie so I was lucky to get away with landing it just before the bunker at the back of the green and bringing it back to a foot or two.

“I think it is borderline lucky but that one will stand out for a while.”

Consistency and keeping a level head has been key for the Queenslander who, on a total of 18-under the card, is happy to take the lead into the final day.

“As long as I keep the lead I don’t really mind,” said Nisbet, whose believes his comfort on the City Golf Club layout will be beneficial on the final day.

“I’ve come from behind a lot of times so I don’t mind being in that position but front-running is a new thing for me so I’ll just get out there and attack this course.”

With two recent wins on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia in 2018 at the New Zealand Open and Northern Territory PGA Championship, it was Nisbet who chased down the lead on both occasions.

“I didn’t do anything differently in those two events last year and I really attacked that course,” Nisbet added.

“I had to go pretty low to beat the guys in front of me and it’s the same thing around this course, it’s easy to go low and the guys who are chasing me are probably going to try and do the same thing.”

With his title defence at the New Zealand Open only a week away, Nisbet believes a win in Toowoomba would be the perfect positive to take to Queenstown.

“A win would give me a big confidence boost going into next week,” continued Nisbet.

“It’s a tough week trying to defend a title as well so I hopefully can draw some positive vibes from this week going into next.”

Flying under the radar early in the tournament, Deyen Lawson came to the forefront in round three to sit two shots behind the lead at 16-under par.

Recording a stellar four birdies in a row from holes 14 to 17, the back-9 stood out for the Victorian who is pleased with his consistency ahead of a big 2019.

“I played pretty solid today,” said Lawson, who will play fulltime on the European Tour in 2019.

“The first three days have been pretty consistent so I hope I can keep that going tomorrow.

“I birdied four of the last five and had a good chance on 18; I hit a good putt but it didn’t go in.

“Overall I played pretty solid for most of the day. I gave myself a lot of chances and converted a few of them; obviously you want them all to go in but all in all I’m pretty happy.”

While chasing down an in-form Nisbet will be no small feat, Lawson will turn his focus to his own form around the City Golf Club layout.

“If you’re playing well you like to think every course suits you but I’ve been driving it pretty straight and you’ve got to be pretty straight here,” said Lawson.

“If you get the putter rolling you can really give yourself lots of chances.

“You can’t really control what the other guys are doing and you just go out and try and post a good number and see how you go.”

It was a roller coaster round for overnight leader Lincoln Tighe featuring six birdies, four bogeys and a double at the final hole to post an even par round and be five shots of the lead.

West Australian Jarryd Felton also joined the front-runners in round three, tying for 4th alongside Harrison Endycott and Max McCardle at 12-under the card.

The final day of play at the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship presented by Toowoomba Regional Council will begin at 7:00am AEST at City Golf Club.

To view round four tee times please click here.

To view round three results please click here.