Low scoring remained the order of the day when the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles resumed in overcast conditions, with England’s Richard Finch making the biggest move of the morning.
On the Centenary Course which will host the Ryder Cup next September, 80 players broke par in the first round and the halfway cut fell at three under par, with Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez top of the leaderboard on 14 under after consecutive rounds of 65.
Austria's Bernd Wiesberger, who lost out in a five-man play-off in this event two years ago, was a shot behind Gonzalez and felt he would need to shoot better than 22 under to win his third European Tour title tomorrow.
Finch was showing that such low scoring was certainly still possible as he climbed into the top ten after 12 holes of his third round.
Finch, who fired a hole-in-one on the 17th yesterday and made the cut with a shot to spare, got off to a flying start with a birdie on the first and eagle on the par five second and, after a bogey on the eighth, also eagled the par five ninth to be out in 32.
Birdies at the tenth and 12th took the former Irish Open winner to ten under par, four behind Gonzalez who had yet to begin his round.
The 43 year old has not played since failing to qualify for The Open Championship in June but arrived in Scotland refreshed after five weeks back at home in Rosario - birthplace of football star Lionel Messi - where he has a farm.
"It's a very important week for me because I have not played well at the start of the season," added Gonzalez, who has won four times on The European Tour but failed to record a top ten finish yet this season.
"To shoot two rounds of 65 is amazing. I had five weeks' rest to recharge my batteries.
"It's strange because I'm a professional golfer and I need competition, but I'm feeling great after five weeks off. It has made me more relaxed and I think that's the key to making a good score."
Gonzalez did not remain in the lead for long, dropping a shot at the first while all around him were taking advantage of the perfect scoring conditions.
Sweden's Fredrik Andersson Hed had birdied the first and eagled the second to move to 12 under and was joined on that score by American Brooks Koepka, who almost holed his approach to the second for an albatross and tapped in for eagle.
England's Tommy Fleetwood then holed from 15 feet for birdie on the first before claiming the eighth eagle of the day on the second to move into the lead on 14 under.
