Marc Warren signed for a second consecutive eight under par 63 on Saturday to extend his lead to three shots heading into the final round of the Open de Portugal.
The Scot made seven birdies and a slam dunk eagle to reach 22 under par, with Denmark’s Sebastian Friedrichsen his closest contender after a third round 64.
Warren was delighted he could continue his strong performance off the tee and give himself plenty of opportunities around the tree-lined PGA Aroeira No.1.
“I drove it well again which I think is the key around here,” he said. “I didn’t quite take advantage of the par fives as much today.
“I had a really good eagle chance on one from about 12 feet I think, then made par on ten and 15 so a little bit frustrated there, but great to finish with three threes.”
Although making a solid start with two birdies in his first six, Warren’s round ignited when he holed out for an eagle two on the long par-four seventh.
He followed that with another two on the challenging par-three eighth, before making four more gains on the back nine.
Warren said the incredible eagle helped spark his moving day charge.
“I had a good break off the tee on the right hand side of the fairway, so it was a little bit further back then we wanted,” he added. “From 150 yards I hit a three quarter nine iron straight in, slam dunk. It didn’t even touch the hole, not even any damage which is unusual.
“But that was good I feel like that got everything going and it was nice to follow that up with a good two on eight and then a good back nine.
“In a funny way, a shot like that or a good break where it goes in can actually knock you off a little bit, so it was nice to keep the concentration going.”
Sitting 53rd in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, the 45-year-old has put himself in prime position to secure his third HotelPlanner Tour victory tomorrow and vault up the season-long standings.
Warren is hoping he continues to avoid the penalising trees in Sunday’s final round that he has successfully navigated so far, having made just two bogeys all week.
“Every hole is tree lined here so you can quickly get into trouble. Eight and nine are two of the toughest holes on the course, I bogeyed nine today. But I’ve been fortunate when I have been in the trees to have a shot so far so hopefully that continues tomorrow.
“It’s been a good week so far, and obviously tomorrow is about trying to pick up as many points as I can. Like you said, it’s this time of the year where you’re looking to have a good finish to the season, so hopefully I can put myself in position where I can challenge that top 15, top 30 going into the last few events.”
A full six shots behind Warren sit South Africa’s MJ Daffue and Spaniard Joseba Torres, who share third at 16 under. A shot further back is England’s Matthew Southgate, Argentina’s Andres German Gallegos, Belgium’s James Meyer de Beco, Sweden’s Tobias Jensen Eden, and Alex Goff from the U.S.A.
The final round of the Open de Portugal begins tomorrow at 7:45am local time, with Warren teeing off alongside Friedrichsen and Daffue at 11:46am.
