Carlos Rodiles will carry the bulk of the home support as well as a two shot lead into the final round of the Open de España at the Centro Nacional de Golf in Madrid.
The 31 year old Spaniard – winner of The European Tour Qualifying School at San Roque last November – completed his third round in the weather affected tournament on Sunday morning, carding a second consecutive 66 for a 14 under par total of 202 and a two shot lead over Englishman Simon Dyson.
Rodiles and Dyson had shared the lead at nine under par when play was stopped for fading light on Saturday night; Rodiles having played four holes of his third round while Dyson had completed five.
But the Spaniard grabbed the initiative as soon as play resumed on Sunday morning, birdieing the fifth and sixth holes to move into the lead. Rodiles, who has never won on The European Tour, traded a birdie and a bogey at the tenth and 11th holes before ensuring pole position for the final round with further birdies at the 13th, 16th and 17th.
Dyson is looking for his third European Tour title after a superb 2006 season which saw him win in Indonesia and the Netherlands on his way to a career high 21st place on the Order of Merit.
The 29 year old Englishman fired himself into contention by matching Rodiles’ 66 and, like the Spaniard, Dyson had seven birdies and only one dropped shot in his excellent effort.
One shot behind Dyson is South African Charl Schwartzel who returned on Sunday morning to complete a 68 for an 11 under par total of 205 while England’s Stuart Little and Jyoti Randhawa of India will go into the final round in a share of fourth place on 206 after respective third rounds of 70 and 66.
