Gavin Hay and Michael Sim continue to 

trail in NSW Open after three rounds

 The 2017 NSW Open stage is set for an exciting finish with a tight leaderboard heading into the final round at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club on Sunday.

But Scots Gavin Hay (pictured left) from Grantown on Spey and Michael Sim, who hails originally from the Aberdeen suburb of Westhill, will not be involved in it as they are trailing the leaders by more shots than can be made up in one round.
Hay is T58 on 214 with rounds of 69, 72 and 73. He had a triple bogey 7 at the fourth today and also dropped a shot at the 12th. Gavin had three bogeys: the seventh, 10th and 14th.
Sim, who emigrated with his parents to Australia before he was 10 years old, has lost his golfing touch meantime.

A former world No 1 amateur, Michael (pictured right) is T68 on level par 216 with scores of 68, 72 and 74.He had birdies at the third, fifth and 10th but cancelled these out with bogeys at the eighth, ninth, 12th, 17th and 18th.
West Australian Jason Scrivener continued his strong week at the tournament with a round of 6-under 66 to be 17-under the card at 199 with 18 holes to play.
The 28-year-old wasn’t particularly happy with his round that only included one bogey on the par-4 7th hole but remained patient to place himself in top spot.
“I felt like I was just plugging away today, I wasn’t playing great by any means,” Scrivener said.
“Tee to green was really good but I wasn’t holing too many putts, I just stayed patient and had a nice finish which was good.”
Round three saw the toughest conditions of the week so far at Twin Creeks with a strong breeze throughout the day, Scrivener said he was able to take advantage on some of the holes around the course.
“It was pretty consistent, it wasn’t too bad. When it picks up and swirls and it’s gusty it makes it tricky. But there were a few holes where it played a lot easier as well.”
Scrivener finds himself in a familiar position following the third round of a Professional tournament and gets another chance to capture his breakthrough victory tomorrow.
“I’ve just got to keep putting myself in this position and I’ll fall over the line one of these days,” Scrivener joked.
“With those experiences I feel comfortable now in this position, although I haven’t won yet, if I keep doing it it’s going to happen eventually whether that’s tomorrow or somewhere down the line. So I’m not putting myself under any pressure or anything.”
Right on Scrivener’s tail are Victorian Lucas Herbert who shot 5-under 67 today for 16-under 200 and Daniel Nisbet (Queensland) who had a 68 to join him in joint second place, one behind Scrivener.
Herbert left some scoring opportunities on the course but is confident heading in to the final round.
“I missed a couple of short putts, it was a pretty long day out there and I lost concentration a couple of times which was annoying but I’ve got myself in a good position for tomorrow,” Herbert said.
“It’s just another round of golf though; you’ve just got to shoot the lowest round you can.”
Queenslander Daniel Nisbet rued a double bogey on the 16th
“It sucks to end the round like that, at the end of the day I hit a good shot it was on the line I wanted I just put way too much heat on it,” Nisbet said.
“I only had two bogeys all week leading up to that hole; it’s OK though because there are plenty of birdies out there.”
2015 NSW Open champion Ben Eccles (Victoria) is outright 4th after his round of 3-under 69 for a 201 tally  while Japanese amateur Takumi Kanaya is in fifth position on 203 after a 69.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72) Players from Australia unless stated otherwise
199 Jason Scrivener 64 69 66.
200 Lucas Herbert 66 67 67, Daniel Nisbet 64 68 68.
201 Ben Eccles 68 64 69.
203 Takumi Kanaya (Japan) (amateur) 70 64 69.
204 Min Woo Lee (amateur) 65 70 69, Jarryd Felton 66 66 72.

SELECTED SCORES
214 Gavin Hay (Scotland) 69 72 73 (T58)
216 Michael Sim (Scotland) 68 72 74 (T68)