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Matt Wallace carded a brilliant bogey free round of 66 to open up a three shot lead heading into the final round of the Scottish Championship presented by AXA.
The Englishman is chasing a fifth European Tour title and his first since the 2018 Made in Denmark, and he edged closer to that target after recording an eagle and four birdies – including two in his last two holes – to get to 18 under par, three ahead of nearest challenger and countryman Garrick Porteous.
Porteous also signed for a round of 66 at Fairmont St Andrews as he sets his sight on a first European Tour title, after earning his card for the 2020 season at Qualifying School.
Spaniard Adrian Otaegui had a share of the overnight lead with Wallace and he sits in third place at 14 under par after a round 70. American Sean Crocker is a shot further back, with English pair Chris Paisley and Eddie Pepperell then at 12 under par alongside Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell.
Player quotes
Matt Wallace: “I enjoyed it a lot. Especially at the end there to finish the way I did was really nice. It’s probably the best I’ve ever handled myself. I missed a few putts early on, I didn’t really get much going. I holed a nice one on four and then a good two on that short driveable hole but then nothing really happened. Sometimes I felt like I wanted to push on but I stayed really patient and it showed there by the end.
“It’s very simple when you’re just thinking about the process. I’m just going to go and have a nice bath, warm up, have some food and then get ready for tomorrow. Do the same things I’ve been doing practice-wise. Find out where the wind is because the wind could be different, come up with a game plan, and then process and execute.”
Garrick Porteous: “I was just in play all the time which gave myself enough chances to get close to the pin and I was rolling it really well. I holed a lot of putts, so that was nice. I just wanted to do what I’d been doing really. I played really well in practice. I’ve got my mate Connor on my bag this week so we’ve been having a good laugh.
“I’ve just been enjoying it really. I’ve not been taking it too seriously but I’ve ended up on the right side of the leaderboard which is nice. I’m playing nicely. I’m going to go and take a hot shower now and get warmed up again but I’m looking forward to getting going tomorrow and hopefully get off to a good start.”
Adrian Otaegui: “I’m really happy with the way I played to be honest. From tee to green I played solid, I gave myself some birdie chances, which is what I wanted and some putts just didn’t drop. I felt like I was putting well, rolling the ball well, so I’m pretty happy.
“I felt like the ball was flying less on the back nine and it’s probably because the temperatures were just dropping. When the sun was dropping you could feel it getting colder and the last few holes, the visibility was really low, so it will be something to know for tomorrow. I think holes were playing longer towards the end when the temperature was dropping, especially 16 and 17 into the wind, they were two long and difficult holes.”
Round Three Scores
198 M WALLACE (ENG) 65 67 66,
201 G PORTEOUS (ENG) 66 69 66,
202 A OTAEGUI (ESP) 62 70 70,
203 S CROCKER (USA) 70 66 67,
204 J CALDWELL (NIR) 70 66 68, C PAISLEY (ENG) 66 71 67, E PEPPERELL (ENG) 68 70 66,
205 A RAI (ENG) 66 67 72, A SADDIER (FRA) 67 67 71,
206 P WARING (ENG) 68 67 71, M SIMONSEN (DEN) 69 69 68,
207 B STONE (RSA) 67 70 70, M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 69 68 70, M JORDAN (ENG) 71 68 68, B STOW (ENG) 70 70 67,
208 P HARRINGTON (IRL) 66 69 73, M WARREN (SCO) 67 69 72, M ARMITAGE (ENG) 70 68 70, C HILL (SCO) 70 72 66,
209 B EASTON (RSA) 65 72 72, L WESTWOOD (ENG) 67 70 72, A WU (CHN) 67 71 71, C SYME (SCO) 70 70 69, J DONALDSON (WAL) 70 70 69,
210 E FERGUSON (SCO) 67 72 71, G FDEZ-CASTANO (ESP) 67 73 70, S SODERBERG (SWE) 72 68 70, O FARR (WAL) 73 67 70, J MORRISON (ENG) 72 69 69, M BALDWIN (ENG) 70 72 68, R RAMSAY (SCO) 74 68 68,
211 K REITAN (NOR) 73 64 74, A LEVY (FRA) 70 71 70, S HORSFIELD (ENG) 74 69 68,
212 D COUPLAND (ENG) 68 69 75, A MERONK (POL) 68 70 74, C HOWIE (SCO) 70 68 74, J HARDING (RSA) 75 64 73, P FIGUEIREDO (POR) 70 70 72, D LAW (SCO) 73 67 72, L VAN MEIJEL (NED) 72 70 70, A CHESTERS (ENG) 72 70 70,
213 D GAVINS (ENG) 70 68 75, D DRYSDALE (SCO) 69 71 73, W BESSELING (NED) 71 69 73, P ERIKSSON (SWE) 73 67 73, D VAN DRIEL (NED) 72 69 72, S JAMIESON (SCO) 67 75 71, J STALTER (FRA) 70 72 71, S SHARMA (IND) 71 72 70,
214 S CHAWRASIA (IND) 69 69 76, J WALTERS (RSA) 71 69 74, R PARATORE (ITA) 68 73 73, Z MURRAY (AUS) 69 73 72, R PETERSSON (SWE) 71 71 72, B POKE (DEN) 71 71 72,
215 D PERRIER (FRA) 70 70 75, O WILSON (ENG) 72 68 75, H LONG (GER) 69 73 73,
216 G HAVRET (FRA) 69 70 77, B EVANS (ENG) 69 72 75, R SANTOS (POR) 71 71 74, L SCALISE (ITA) 71 71 74, S TILEY (ENG) 69 74 73, T GANDY (IMN) 70 73 73, J FAHRBRING (SWE) 72 71 73, M SCHNEIDER (GER) 73 70 73,
219 D YOUNG (SCO) 72 71 76,
220 J SJÖHOLM (SWE) 72 71 77,
