Ross Kellett carded a five under par 66 to claim a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Fred Olsen Challenge de España on the European Challenge Tour.
The Scotsman continued his impressive form at Tecina Golf, following a sublime 60, then a patient 67 yesterday, with another below par score.
Playing alongside Nicolo Ravano, who shot only the second official 59 in the history of the European, Challenge and Seniors Tours yesterday, it was the 28 year old who stole the show, making six birdies and one bogey during his third round.
And with a two-shot advantage over England’s Sam Walker, the Motherwell man is relishing the chance to lead from the front tomorrow.
“I led before after 36 holes in Norway and I was thinking about that today,” said Kellett whose best result on the 2016 Road to Oman to date is a 17th place finish at the Made in Denmark Challenge – Presented by Ejner Hessel.
“I played very similar to the last few days. I birdied two after hitting it in close then missed a good chance on the par five on number seven. I bogeyed eight, but birdied nine to take me to the turn at two under.
“I holed a nice putt on eleven for birdie from around 20 feet, then I had good chance at 12. I hit a lovely three iron to about eight feet at the par three 14th and knocked it in. Then played the last few solid.
“On 17 I didn’t want to take the back flag on so I was just short of the green. The wind really affected my putt on that hole as it was about as gusty as it got there. On 18 I then left myself with nine foot for birdie and I feel as though it was a decent score.
“The wind really kicked up at around 12 and 13 today but I was in control all the way really and felt comfortable.
“I was really patient yesterday and didn’t capitalise on a lot of good shots – but then I finished strongly to move myself up the leaderboard. Today was the same, I had a lot of looks and thankfully holed a few.
“Tomorrow I will have the same mind set and I will stay focused on my processes. I won’t look at what the other guys are doing, and I will just try and control my own game – and the score will be what it is.
“I am going to just relax tonight and try and watch some of The Open as I haven’t seen any of it this week.”
Hot on the heels of Kellett is Walker who shot a five under par 66 to sit two back in outright second on 18 under par overall.
Ravano, who became the first player since France’s Adrien Mörk to make an official 59 on the Challenge Tour, goes into day four tied for third place on 17 under par overall.
