A patient Richard McEvoy will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge after signing for a three under par 68 on Day Three.
The Englishman is on 15 under in total while Steven Tiley and Ross Kellett share second place on 11 under, with Tiley posting a blistering nine under par 62 to rocket up the leaderboard.
The third round action got under way at 11.30am local time after play was suspended due to heavy rain on Friday at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil and numerous groups were required to finish their second rounds early on Saturday.
All eyes were on Tiley, playing in one of the first groups of the day, as he carded nine birdies without a blemish to put the pressure on halfway leader McEvoy who began the day on 12 under.
But after opening with nine pars, McEvoy found his rhythm on the back nine with four birdies and a single bogey to retain the lead for the third day in succession.
He admits his frustration with his level par front nine, but the Englishman believes his birdie-birdie finish is the perfect preparation for tomorrow’s final round.
“The front nine was a bit frustrating,” he said. “I didn’t play great, but I played ok. The other boys were making putts and making birdies and I just couldn’t sink them. I was rolling the ball nicely but nothing was really going in, so it was a bit frustrating.
“The back nine was great. I had a little mishap for a couple of holes in the middle where I lost my swing a little bit but then I found something playing 14.
“I played the last few holes really nicely so it was a nice way to finish going into tomorrow.
“I think patience was the key for me today. My game wasn’t great but it was okay and I got a bit frustrated at times but I stayed patient and it came good at the end.
“I birdied three of the last five holes so it was a lovely way to finish and it gives me a bit of leeway going in to tomorrow.”
McEvoy has previously won twice on the European Challenge Tour but he admits it is a different proposition to possess such a commanding lead with 18 holes to play.
“I know how to win, I’ve done it before, but I’ve never really won from the front,” the 2005 Panasonic Panama Open winner said. “In Scotland last year, I was only one clear so it’s a little bit different being four or five clear, like I was today.
“I found it quite hard actually, in a way, because I sat on the back foot a little bit and didn’t play as aggressively as I did in the first two days. I was trying to play a little bit more aggressively but my swing wasn’t quite allowing me to as I was losing it a little bit.
“You can’t really see many leaderboards on the front nine so you only really notice it when you come to the ninth.
“Steve Tiley obviously got off to a great start and to finish nine under is very, very good. We’ll be having some banter tomorrow, he’s a good friend, so I look forward to playing with him tomorrow.”
Oliver Bekker sits third on the leaderboard on ten under par and he’s followed by Thomas Linard, Gavin Moynihan, Jamie Rutherford and Borja Virto on nine under.
In tied ninth are Emilio Cuartero Blanco, Marco Iten, Adrian Meronk and Christopher Mivis, who are all seven shots off the lead on eight under par.
The final round will begin at 08.10am local time on Sunday.
