A truly enthralling battle was taking place on the fairways and greens of Golf de Gouverneur in the final round of the ALLIANZ Open de Lyon as Lloyd Saltman showed real heart under severe pressure in maintaining a one shot lead as the final group reached the turn.
His fellow Scotsman Chris Doak was right on his tail, however, with five birdies including a run of three in a row moving him to five under for the day and 13 under for the tournament, just a shot back.
Saltman, playing in the final group, made the perfect start with a birdie at the first before moving into a three shot lead courtesy of an eagle at the par five third hole.
Just as Doak was climbing and threatening to join Saltman at the top, the overnight leader birdied the eighth hole to move to 14 under and keep his hopes of a maiden Challenge Tour victory in tact.
Joachim B Hansen of Denmark, meanwhile, was making a charge from the down the field as the promising 22 year old negotiated the first 15 holes in eight under par to move to third place on 12 under.
The other players in the final group, Sam Hutsby and Byeong-hun An, were struggling to gain momentum on the final day with Hutsby one under through nine and An level par, on ten under and nine under respectively.
