Lucas Herbert is in position to defend his Irish Open title ahead of Sunday's final round.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After the first three days at Mount Juliet Estate Herbert sits (-11) T7 on the leaderboard and three strokes behind the leader Adrian Meronk who is at 14 under-par.
During Saturday's third round Herbert only had one dropped shot to finish at four-under par for the day.
On the front nine of the par-72 Jack Nicklaus-designed course Herbert made birdies on the par-four second, par-four fourth and on the par-five eighth hole.
The birdie blitz continued on the back nine with another on the par-five 10th.
The 26-year-old then made six consecutive pars on holes 11 through 16 before sinking another birdie on the par-five 17th.
Saturday's round concluded with a bogey on the par-four 18th.
After carding three consecutive under-par rounds, Herbert is primed for a strong tilt at a title defence once the fourth round action gets underway on Sunday night (AEST).
The field is chasing 29-year-old Polish golfer in Meronk who sits at the top of the leaderboard at 14-under par but is being trailed closely by a contingent of former champions and star players who are eager to secure victory.
Meronk is currently in the midst of his best season so far on the DP World Tour which includes six top-ten finishes, however, he will dig-deep for extra motivation to seal his first win on the tour.
Herbert played alongside Ireland's own Padraig Harrington on Thursday and Friday during the first two rounds.
"There's so much support here. I almost feel like an adopted Irishman this week," Herbert said to the DP World Tour.
"It's been great with Paddy.
"The crowd out there for him has been unbelievable.
"He holed a putt on the ninth to be safe to make the cut.
"The roar that came out of them was pretty incredible.
"It feels like the majority of them are out there for Paddy but I definitely saw some boys out there wearing a red shirt yesterday, so I know there's a couple in the crowd for me and my parents are here, too."
If you're reading this it's because you're a loyal subscriber to the Bendigo Advertiser. If you want to get more out of your subscription join the discussion on the Bendigo Advertiser's subscriber group on Facebook today.