Englishman Lloyd Kennedy was marching towards his maiden Challenge Tour title in the Fred Olsen Challenge de España in the Canary Islands, reaching 18 under par midway through the third round.
The 26 year old was two shots ahead of compatriot Matthew Baldwin and Spaniard Pedro Oriol and was five under for the day following birdies at the second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth holes at Tecina Golf.
Oriol was also five under par through nine holes while Baldwin was four under, and Germany’s Nicolas Meitinger and Italian Alessandro Tadini were another shot back at 15 under.
With only three events remaining on the Challenge Tour schedule after this week, the pressure is building for a place in the top 20 of the Rankings and subsequent promotion to The European Tour.