Victor Pastor will bid to make it back-to-back Spanish winners of the Challenge de España when he takes a one-stroke lead into the final round at Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri.
The 27-year-old birdied the last hole to put the finishing touches to a five under par round of 67 and move to five under par overall, one shot clear of Sweden’s Jens Dantorp and Irishman Conor Purcell, who share second place on four under par.
Spain’s Santiago Tarrio, who graduated in third on the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2021, triumphed in Cádiz last year and Pastor is in pole position to follow in his footsteps when he tees it up in the final group on Sunday after a stunning Saturday.
“It’s been an amazing round,” he said. “I think I played solid all day. I never really had a tough moment. I’ve been playing well all day, so it’s good.
“It was easier today, for sure. The wind was in the same direction so I just learned from yesterday in terms of lines, so yesterday was good for me because it was hard. You have to be pretty patient, I put it in my notebook and used that knowledge today.
“I made some good shots on four, five and six, and then I played really solid during the whole round. I had my chances and I took them.”
Pastor’s lead comes courtesy of a closing birdie on the tough par three 18th hole and the Spaniard was pleased with the way he navigated the closing stretch, which poses a plethora of obstacles.
“I’ve been struggling all week with the tee shot on 18,” he said. “I used to hit low four iron but today I hit it with more spin and the ball stopped about nine feet from the pin. I made the putt and I’m happy with it.
“The closing stretch is hard. When you’re playing badly it feels worse, but when you’re playing well you just need to be calm, be patient and if you make bogeys just get on with it, it can happen. I made a good par on 16, an amazing par on 17 when I chipped in – that could have been a bogey or a double – and then I finished with a birdie so it was really nice.”
Round two leader Mikael Lindberg posted a one under par round of 71 to move into a tie for fourth place alongside Germany’s Bernd Ritthammer on three under par, with Norway’s Kristian Krogh Johannessen a shot further back in sixth on two under par.
Englishman OJ Farrell carded the second hole-in-one of the week when he aced the par three seventh hole on his way to posting a level par 72.
The final round of the Challenge de España will begin at 8:00am local time on Sunday, with Pastor, Dantorp and Purcell comprising the final group at 9:50am.
