Bisons’ Neill carries lead into final round of men’s amateur

RORY Neill woke up Tuesday with a share of the lead in the 115th edition of the Golf Manitoba men’s amateur championship.

He went to bed with the solo lead.

The Glendale member rests at 2-under for the 54-hole event and will take a one-stroke advantage into Wednesday’s final round at St. Boniface Golf Club after firing a one-over 73 on Tuesday.

The University of Manitoba Bisons’ golfer got out of the gates much slower than he did in Monday’s opening round, bogeying four of his first six holes, but stuck with it, finding birdies on four of the last 10 holes to salvage his round.

“I was definitely a little bit nervous at first, playing in the final group,” Neill said. “But I thought I hung in there really well. I got off to a bit of a rocky start. I’m actually not sure if it was due to nerves; I just think I hit some poor putts on the greens. It was kind of all three-putts. But I struck the ball really well, and I knew if I could just clean some things up on the greens, I would be OK for the rest of the day, and I did a good job mentally of hanging in there.”

Neill won’t have much breathing room as he seeks his first men’s amateur crown, as 11 players lurk within four shots of the lead and another four are five shots back.

Jay Doyle of Niakwa, who also carded a 73 in the second round, is the only other player in red figures at 1-under.

A pair of Elmhurst members, Patrick Perrin and Kaleb Lambert, are tied for third, two strokes back of Neill, at even par. Perrin bounced back on Day 2 with a two-under 70, which put him back in the mix after a two-over 74 in the opening round.

Nathan Lepore of Centennial Pines and Allan McDonald of Breezy Bend are tied for fifth at 1-over for the event. Lepore leaped 21 spots on the leaderboard after carding a two-under 69 in the second round.

Reigning champion Evan Nachtigall, who logged a second-straight 73, is T8 with four other players — Jack Moro, Mike Walker, Michael Coutts and Tyler Polanski — at 2-over, four shots back of Neill.

Moro was Tuesday’s biggest mover, jumping 33 spots on the leaderboard after firing the low round of the day (four-under 68) — a major improvement from his six-over 78 on Monday.

Jordan Walford, who held a share of the lead with Neill after the opening round, struggled to a seven-over 79 on Tuesday. He sits tied for 17th.

Should Nachtigall not find his way to the winner’s circle, the tournament will crown a new champion for the second consecutive year. Braxton Kuntz won it from 2021-24.

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