Kipp Popert will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the G4D Tour @ ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics as he goes in search of his seventh G4D Tour title.
The Englishman, who leads the Order of Merit after three wins so far this campaign, mixed an eagle with four birdies and three bogeys in a round of 69 to sit at three under par.
American Chris Biggins sits in second place on one under par, three shots better off than Italian defending champion Tommaso Perrino, Spaniard Juan Postigo Arce, Irishman Brendan Lawlor and Swede Rasmus Lia.
World Number One Popert has finished in the top two at each of the season’s opening five events and got off to a flying start at Galgorm Castle on Monday, with three birdies in his opening four holes as he came close to two hole outs.
“I am very pleased," he reflected. "I hit some very good shots, some not so great ones. There was no wind today, so it was quite scoreable. The rough is tough so you’ve just got to keep it in the fairway.
“My wedge play is often pretty good, and I nearly holed out on the second and the third so that was nice. I then had a 15-footer for birdie on the fourth.”
Popert bogeyed the fifth and sixth but finished his front nine with an eagle to reach the turn at three under.
The 25-year-old mixed a birdie at the par-five tenth with a dropped shot at the par-three 14th, before saving par with a couple of good putts on the closing two holes.
Biggins, who is targeting his breakthrough G4D Tour title, mixed five birdies with four bogeys in his 71.
Perrino recovered from dropping three shots in his opening two holes to record a 74, with Lawlor and Lia both birdieing the last to end the day at two over alongside Postigo Arce after he played the back nine in one under.
