Cormac Sharvin surges into lead in Brabazon Cup

A stunning third round 67 shot Cormac Sharvin into a one-stroke lead at the Brabazon Trophy at Hollinwell in Nottingham and he today bids to become first Irishman since Rory McIlroy in 2006 to win the prestigious tournament – the English open amateur stroke-play championship.

The 22-year-old Ardglass rising player didn’t drop a stroke yesterday as he overhauled a five-shot deficit on early pace-setter Ben Taylor going into round three with the second best score of the day.

Starting on level par after rounds of 71 and 73, Sharvin knew he needed a strong performance yesterday if he wanted to keep alive realistic hopes of winning and he produced a display that would have delighted the watching Walker Cup selectors.

A birdie on the first hole was then followed up with four more – on six, eight, 10 and 14 – to card a five-under 67 and left him with a 54-hole aggregate of 211 and one shot ahead of English duo Taylor and Jonathan Thomson and Scotsman Ewen Ferguson, with the chasing trio all on four-under par.

It was only Thomson’s round of 66 that prevented Sharvin also claiming the best round of the day.

Meanwhile, Naas' Jack Hume is also very much still contention and sits two shots off compatriot Sharvin going into the final 18 holes today.