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After being the joint leader after rounds one and two, Victorian rookie professional Max Charles seized control of the Final Stage of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s Qualifying School with a 66 on day three at Moonah Links today.
Sitting at 13-under-par after 54 holes, the former Australian amateur representative will head into the final round with a four-shot lead over New Zealand’s Denzel Ieremia and on track for his biggest moment as a professional.
The 23-year-old had a best finish of T42 in his four Tour starts in the 2023/24 season, but he’s looked very comfortable in the lead this week, dropping just three shots over the opening three rounds – a double-bogey on the 12th hole of the Open Course on Wednesday and a bogey on the opening hole today.
He followed that early mis-step with birdies on the third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth to turn in 32 before adding in birdies on the 14th and 18th.
Meanwhile, Ieremia surged to second thanks to the low round of the tournament so far. His eight-under 64 featured eight birdies – three on the front nine and five on the back which he completed in just 31 strokes – and saw him jump 12 positions after he struggled to a 76 on day two.
Also still in contention heading into Friday are Nathan Barbieri (NSW), who is five shots back at -8, James Mee (Qld) at -7 and Brett Rankin (Qld) and Adam Brady (WA) who are sharing fifth at -6.
Round three saw some important big moves further back in the field including a 67 from Queensland amateur Tyler Duncan to move him to a share of ninth and a 67 from NSW’s Dylan Perry, despite two late bogeys, which lifted him into a share of 25th.
Argentinian amateur Segunda Oliva Pinta solidified his position with a 69 to be equal seventh at 5-under, alongside joint 36-hole leader Corey Lamb (NSW) who double-bogeyed the second hole on the way to a 74.
The top 30 finishers after the 72 holes conclude tomorrow will earn Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia and be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category.
The cut line for those slots sits at +1 entering the final round.
Those players finishing beyond 30th place and ties, who complete 72 holes at Final Stage, will be eligible for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, however, they will not hold an exemption category for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
All players who play 72 holes of the Final Stage will earn a pro-am exemption category and be eligible to enter adidas PGA Pro-Am series events.
