Amateur John Kemp (England) in action during the third round of the Staysure Tour Qualifying School Finals played at Pestana Golf Resort, Vale da Pinta. Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images

Jimmy Bolger failed in his bid for a Staysure Tour card when he bogeyed two of his last three holes to miss the 54-hole at the Qualifying School Final Stage in Portugal.

The Kilkenny professional (50) carded a level par 71 in the third round at Pestana Golf Resort's Vale do Pinta course. But with only those within eight strokes of fifth place contesting today's final round, he finished two strokes outside the top five on nine-over-par.

English amateur John Kemp leads the 32 finalists who will compete for five coveted cards after a 67 gave him a one-stroke lead over compatriot Paul Streeter on four-under.

Kemp started with a birdie, made two further gains before the turn, then birdied the tenth and the 13th before making a double bogey on the par three 15th hole.

He recovered with a birdie on the 16th hole and parred the last two holes for a four under par finish.

“I’m really pleased with how well I played today, apart from the double bogey that I had,” said Kemp. “We’re all experienced enough not to let those moments get you down.

“I might be ahead, but there isn’t really a cushion there. I’m going to go out there and win it. I’ll be pleased when this week is over, to be honest. I’ve never played this much golf in such a short period of time.”

If Kemp were to emerge victorious in the Algarve, he would become the first amateur golfer to win Qualifying School since it was first held at Pestana Golf Resort in 2001.

Streeter, making his second Qualifying School appearance, missed out on the play-off at last year’s Qualifying School by just one stroke and is determined to go one better and secure his card for the forthcoming season.

Paul Streeter. Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images

“The course was the easiest we played it all week with the conditions, but I didn’t really give myself a lot of chances out there,” said Streeter. “I took a few wrong clubs which left me with long putts.

“I want to shoot under par and win the tournament tomorrow, rather than go out and just make the top five. Last year was a good experience, so hopefully I learn from that going into the final round.”

Argentina’s Rafael Gomez, a two-time winner on the European Challenge Tour, and England’s David Shacklady, who missed out on a card at last year’s Qualifying School after losing in the three-man playoff, share fourth place. Gomez has recovered from an opening round of 80, nine over par, carding rounds of 66 and 65 to move into the top five.

American Sonny Skinner is fifth on one under par, one stroke ahead of Italy’s Mauro Bianco in sixth place. Four golfers share seventh place on two over par including England’s Peter Wilson, who earned his card at Qualifying School last year.

Staysure Tour, Qualifying School Final Stage, Pestana Golf Resort (Par 71)

Detailed scores

209 J Kemp (am) (Eng) 75 67 67,

210 P Streeter (Eng) 70 70 70,

211 D Shacklady (Eng) 69 69 73, R Gomez (Arg) 80 66 65,

212 S Skinner (USA) 74 69 69,

213 M Bianco (Ita) 72 75 66,

215 P Scott (Eng) 76 73 66, M Booth (Eng) 68 76 71, M Hallberg (Swe) 67 77 71, P Wilson (Eng) 73 71 71,

216 A Franco (Par) 75 69 72, G Joyner (Aus) 74 72 70, M Molina (Arg) 70 70 76,

217 J Carriles (Esp) 75 71 71, S Brown (Eng) 74 72 71,

218 S Bennett (Eng) 75 75 68, M Wharton (Eng) 72 74 72, T Dodds (Nam) 76 71 71, J Hall (Eng) 75 73 70, J Buendia (Esp) 70 73 75, C Monasterio (Arg) 76 73 69, V Casado (Esp) 72 73 73,

219 P Parker (USA) 74 69 76, G Rusnak (USA) 75 73 71, J Riegger (USA) 79 69 71, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 72 70 77, T Spence (Eng) 75 75 69, N Cheetham (Eng) 72 74 73, M Green (RSA) 75 74 70, R Gonzalez (Arg) 80 72 67,

220 S Little (Eng) 76 73 71, S McNally (Eng) 74 71 75,

CUT

221 J Quiros (Esp) 73 73 75, A Sherborne (Eng) 75 72 74, P Linhart (Esp) 78 73 70,

222 J Laforce (Can) 77 76 69, Jimmy Bolger (Irl) 75 76 71, G Ryall (Eng) 73 74 75, N Sweet (Eng) 73 75 74, M Davis (Eng) 79 74 69,

223 J Romero (Esp) 75 71 77, W Grant (Eng) 78 72 73, M Ashworth (am) (Eng) 78 72 73,

224 A Saddington (Sco) 78 75 71, I Feliu (Esp) 76 76 72, D Wettlaufer (Can) 75 71 78, C Swart (RSA) 78 73 73, J Sallat (Fra) 79 74 71,

225 S Cipa (Eng) 79 72 74, D Hospital (Esp) 78 77 70, F Almskoug (Swe) 75 75 75, B Conser (USA) 77 73 75,

226 K Tarling (Can) 80 77 69, J Cheetham (Eng) 74 74 78,

227 D Westermark (Swe) 82 75 70, J Robinson (Eng) 76 75 76,

228 S Mondshine (USA) 71 83 74,

230 M Forrest (Can) 78 80 72, S Wilkinson (Wal) 78 81 71, J Carro (Esp) 75 73 82, M Dornell (am) (Swe) 78 74 78,

231 G Emerson (Eng) 85 72 74, R Sabarros (Fra) 78 74 79,

232 M Stimson (Wal) 79 77 76, J Steenkamer (Ned) 78 72 82, W Botes (RSA) 82 72 78,

233 P Gresswell (Eng) 84 77 72, N Mitchell (Eng) 77 79 77,

234 J Murphy (Eng) 82 79 73,

235 S McAllister (Sco) 77 77 81, A Wiltshire (am) (Eng) 77 82 76,

236 C Acutis (Ita) 80 79 77,

238 P Martin (Eng) 83 79 76,

239 M Gallagher (Eng) 79 81 79,

Ret. C Suneson (Esp) 74 76 RT,

WD M Buchter (Sui) WD.