Ross McGowan and John Bickerton share the lead heading into the final round of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.
McGowan and Bickerton two strokes clear
Ross McGowan and John Bickerton share the lead heading into the final round of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.
The English pair moved on to a 14-under-par total at The Vines Resort and Country Club after respectively shooting rounds of 65 and 66.
Bickerton secured his last victory on the European Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December 2007 when playing with his younger compatriot in the final round.
And the 39-year-old is clearly hoping that playing alongside McGowan once again on Sunday will prove a good omen.
"Ross, isn't it?" a smiling Bickerton said. "Yeah, he's doing well and funny enough, the last time I won, I played with Ross at Leopard Creek.
"It might be his turn but you never know."
Bickerton, who started the day two shots behind halfway leaders Damien McGrane and Anthony Kang, parred his first six holes on Saturday before rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt at the seventh.
Back in the mix
He then birdied six of the last 12 holes - Bickerton's round putting him back in the mix after a poor run that has seen him miss the cut in his last four tournaments.
"So far, so good. Obviously the last few weeks have been a bit of a struggle after taking time off in the winter and then to come back last week was the first sign of actually playing decent," he continued.
"The difference this week is that the putts are going in and sometimes that's what makes the difference."
McGowan, whose best Tour finish to date was fifth at the Alfred Dunhill Championship Bickerton won, matched the day's best round with his seven-under-par bogey-free effort.
The 26-year-old began the day on seven under and was out in 34 after birdies on the sixth and ninth.
He picked up five more on the back nine including back-to-back birdies on the last two holes.
"I just hit the ball nicely really and hit a lot of fairways. Around here if you can do that, the second shots and third shots aren't too tough," McGowan said.
"I just played solid and hit the ball fairly close to about 10 foot most of the day and made a few putts.
"It's very balanced and you can make a lot of birdies out there, and several guys have proven it today."
Four tied for third
Sharing third spot on 12 under is a group of four players comprising Raphael Jacquelin (66), Felipe Aguilar (68), Terry Pilkadaris (68) and amateur Danny Lee (69).
Ignacio Garrido bogeyed his final hole to card a 70, which dropped him into a tie for seventh on 11 under alongside Bae Sang-Moon (65), Michael Sim (67), first-round leader Robert-Jan Derksen (69) and Hiroyuki Fujita(70).
Ireland's Peter Lawrie held a share of the lead midway through the round but a double bogey on the 16th saw him finish with a 69.
He therefore joined compatriot McGrane (72), Ulsterman Gareth Maybin (68) and three others on 10 under.
Lee Westwood (68) is in contention on nine under after putting together a round comprising an eagle, five birdies and a double bogey.
Meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie lies on seven under after a level-par 72.
But Anthony Kim's hopes of mounting a challenge suffered a setback when he became the second player in two days after Westwood to score a quadruple-bogey nine on the par-five third.
The world number 11 eventually signed for a 75 that put him on five under.
