Angel Ayora produced a bogey-free four under par round of 66 on moving day to surge two strokes clear at the top of the Rosa Challenge Tour leaderboard, and close in on a maiden Challenge Tour title.
The Spaniard moved to 13 under par for the week, two shots ahead of Italian Gregorio de Leo, who catapulted himself into a share of second place thanks to a course-record nine under par round of 61, and overnight leader Jens Fahrbring from Sweden.
Ayora has impressed on his debut Challenge Tour season and is hoping to boost his chances of promotion to the DP World Tour at the first opportunity with a win this week.
“I worked so hard last year as an amateur to prepare for my first year as a professional and I’m very happy with the result so far,” he said.
“It would be a dream come true to win tomorrow. Having a win in my first season would be very special.
“Today it was a windy day, different to the first two days, so I needed to be smart, very patient and hit good shots which I did well. It’s always fun to have a bogey free round so I’m happy.”
The 19-year-old sits 24th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings having recorded three top ten finishes in 17 starts, with a win this week projected to see him climb as high as ninth with eight events of the 29-event season to go.
Ayora teed it up on the PGA TOUR earlier this year, making the cut at the Puerto Rico Open after receiving an invite to play in the event. He says that experience, coupled with support from the likes of countryman and seven-time DP World Tour winner Alvaro Quiros, have been a huge benefit since turning professional.
“It gave me extra motivation for the year playing on the PGA TOUR earlier this season,” he added. “I’ve dreamed of playing on the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR since I was a child, so it was very special.
“It’s been good for me to have experienced Spanish players here on the Challenge Tour each week too. I grew up watching Alvaro play, so it’s great to have a friend like him around.
“Tomorrow I’ll try to keep my game going in the same direction, hitting good shots and being patient, so we’ll see what happens.”
Dane Martin Simonsen sits three shots off the lead in fourth on ten under par, with Northern Irishman Dermot McElroy one shot further back in fifth. Frenchman Alexander Levy and Dane John Axelsen share sixth on eight under par.
The final round of the Rosa Challenge Tour gets under way at 8:30am local time, with Ayora teeing off alongside De Leo and Fahrbring at 10:25am.
