Manley has sights on back-toback wins
Stuart Manley is in pole position to become the first player for six years to win back-to-back European Challenge Tour events.
The Welshman yesterday carded a third-round 69 to sit joint top with Pedro Figueiredo at the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts.
Manley, who won the Hauts de France Golf Open last week, is level-pegging with Portugal’s Figueiredo at the top of the leaderboard and has the chance to become the first player since Kristoffer Broberg in 2012 to triumph twice in two weeks on Europe’s top developmental tour.
During an up-and-down round Manley carded six birdies and four bogeys to sign for his second successive score of 69 and set the clubhouse lead at eight-under-par – which Figueiredo, in the last group of the day, matched with his own round of 69.
Manley, who has recorded three top-three finishes in his last four Challenge Tour starts, knows he is in a rich vein of form and is fully confident he can add another trophy to his cabinet today.
“I have a good thought in my head about tomorrow,” he said. “I just want to go out there and take the golf course on and I will not be nervous.
“After my round on Thursday I found a little something after swinging the golf club in the back garden of where we are staying, and I turned up at the golf course on Friday feeling a lot better about my game.”
Also in contention going into the last day at Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Club is overnight leader Scot David Law, who birdied three of his last four holes to sign for a levelpar 71 and sit one shot behind Manley and Figueiredo.