Ryan Fox vowed to attack Ballyliffin Golf Club on Sunday as he headed into the final day with a chance to win for the second consecutive year at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation.
The New Zealander finished in a tie for fourth last season after entering the final round four shots back and he found himself in the same position 12 months on.
He knows how to perform in Rolex Series events, having secured four top tens in 11 appearances so far, but has yet to taste victory on the European Tour after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2016.
Two birdies in his final three holes saw the big-hitting 31 year old sign for a round of 70 on Saturday, and he vowed not to change his approach over the final 18 holes.
“Don't do anything different,” he said. “I've taken the golf course on the last three days and it seemed to work.
“It's going to be very condition-dependent again but if we get a day like this, I'll be doing what I did - hit driver everywhere and try to hit wedges in and see if I can hole some putts.
“I've been lucky, I guess we've taken the theory that bogeys aren't a bad score. I've been driving the ball really well and made a couple of bogeys from bad tee-shots but given myself a lot of chances from good tee shots.
“It's going to take birdies to win it. It's going to require a decent round of golf and five or six under has been a tough score to get this week so I'll be trying. We'll see what happens, I'm not going to change the mindset.”
Joakim Lagergren will also head into Sunday four shots behind Erik van Rooyen after a flawless 69 that saw his three birdies come on the front nine.
The Swede admitted he was frustrated not to make more gains on the way home but is certain he can go low when it matters.
“I know I've got a low one in there,” he said.
“I think the conditions stayed great all day. Played well on the back nine as well but feels like I left a lot of shots out there. I didn't hole the putts, it should have been a few better.
Danny Willett was a further shot back at nine under after he recovered from a double-bogey on the second with five birdies on the back nine.
The Englishman knows what it is like to come from behind after capitalising on Jordan Spieth's late errors at the 2016 Masters Tournament, and he is expecting some twists and turns.
“We're a few back,” he said. “It's nice to be in the last few groups and the Irish fans have been great as usual. Hopefully we can do something good tomorrow.
“There's still a lot to play for. When you've got such a big lead, it's a tricky place to be, just have to wait and see.”
