Aussie Davis leads Bower by two as  Brabazon showdown looms It’s showdown time in the Brabazon Trophy with Australia’s Cameron Davis holding a two-shot lead over England’s Jamie Bower, with just one round left to play at London Golf Club.  They were in the same group in today’s third round, claiming 10 birdies between them as the lead swung to and fro, and offering an exciting flavour of what could unfold in tomorrow’s final round. At the end of the day, both players had scored two-under 70, putting Davis on 12-under and Bower on 10-under. Chasing both of them, and adding to the international flavour of the leaderboard, is Anglo-Scot Ryan Lumsden who shot 68 to move to nine-under. In total, there are 16 players within 10 shots of the lead. “I’m looking forward to it,” said Davis, (pictured top) who was Australian amateur champion in 2015. “Any time you play well and are in contention it’s good.” Bower, from Meltham in Yorkshire, added: “I can’t wait, this is what we practise for, it’s why we do it.” Meanwhile, Lumsden commented: “This is a lot of fun. It’s important to stay level and not get ahead of yourself, but it’s a lot better than being at the other end of the leaderboard!” Bower was among the players who had to return early to the Heritage course this morning to complete the second round after the weather disruptions of yesterday.  He kept himself right in contention with 69 and, at eight-under after 36 holes, played himself into the afternoon’s final group with Davis and Jamie Li (Bath). Davis dropped a couple of shots early in the third round and Bower caught him with a birdie on the fourth.  Both players birdied the long 5th, where they confidently took on the water in front of the green, and Bower took the lead with his third birdie in a row on the 6th. Then it was Davis’s turn to take the initiative back, scoring four birdies in seven holes and he stood on the 18th tee with a three shot lead. But Bower (pictured right) managed to narrow the gap to two with a fine up and down from a greenside bunker for par, while Davis three-putted. “It was a bit annoying, I had done a lot of work to get where I was, but I’m still in a good position and still playing well,” said the 21-year-old Australian Bower’s verdict on the round: “It was a good battle and we both played some really nice golf. I managed to get ahead at one stage but for most of the back nine Cameron was ahead of me. He played some great golf today, I was just trying to keep pace.” Lumsden (Royal Wimbledon) was playing in the group in front and grabbing his chances to score seven birdies in his round. “It was pretty windy and a little tougher than the last two days, so I was pleased to have a lot of good holes.” He holed out particularly well but reckons he made a few careless mistakes which he must eliminate tomorrow. “If I can cut them out I’m feeling good about my game,” he said. Behind these three players is a packed scoreboard with Jamie Li (Bath) on seven-under, Ben Hutchinson (Howley Hall) is six-under, Henry Sheridan-Mills (Walsall) four-under, and four players are three-under: Simon Zach of the Czech Republic, Paul McBride of Ireland, Alfie Plant (Sundridge Park) and Rowan Lester of Ireland. The second round of the championship was completed this morning and the 36-hole cut was made on three-over par, with 62 players qualifying for the final two rounds. Click here for full scores. Images © Leaderboard Photography Note: The images may be used with this press release provided they are credited to Leaderboard Photography. A high-resolution version is available on request.  -ENDS- For more information contact: Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193 EDITORS’ NOTES England Golf is the governing body for amateur golf in England. It is one of the country’s largest sports governing bodies and looks after the interests of more than 1,900 golf clubs and 675,000 men, women, boy and girl club members. England Golf is at the heart of grassroots golf, inspiring people to have a lifelong involvement in the game.  Our development initiative ‘Get into golf’ introduces new golfers, juniors and adults, to start playing the game as well as increasing the interest and participation in golf.  Working with our partners we offer business support to clubs to encourage more golfers to enjoy the benefits of club membership and to help promote the game as being accessible, fun and family friendly. For competitive golfers, England Golf provides championships for all ages and abilities, both in individual and team events, hosted at some of the most prestigious courses across the country, some with qualifying events at any club.  England Golf identifies and develops the country’s most talented golfers through their amateur careers, many of whom go on to become the world’s leading professional golfers, such as Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Charley Hull and Melissa Reid.

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