Matthieu Pavon carded a 66 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead at 16-under into the final day at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid.
Pavon has yet to win after 184 events on the DP World Tour but has won twice on the Alps Tour and had two runner-up finishes on both the European Challenge Tour and the DP World Tour.
“I fought a lot today against my emotions,” he said. “I like the place, I like the tournament and I know I did great last year, so a lot coming into my head today but it is all about managing things and this is what I did today and I think I did it pretty well.
“What I learned (last year) is that it is tough to beat Jon Rahm. Last year he got me by six shots and I thought I had a great week, he is the kind of player that is on another planet.
“This week I just try to be myself, I think I have some family from Spain, my grandfather was from Madrid also, so everything is kind of matching up, and I am just happy to be here. I like the course and I am doing great, so I am just enjoying every moment.”
England’s Nathan Kimsey shot a 65 to take the solo second place at 14-under.
Kimsey has won both the Qualifying School and the Road To Mallorca but missed out on victory at the Barbasol Championship when he lost the playoff against Vincent Norrman.
“It would mean a lot,” he said of winning. “Obviously we have had a few kind of close calls and I have had a lot of close weeks this season off the back of last year, so hoping we can go one better and get a win tomorrow.
“A lot of other people, pretty much everyone is going to be feeling the same thing, so just try and use that energy in a good way and keep going through the same game-plan and processes to see where it ends up.”
France’s Romain Langasque (66) and Mike Lorenzo-Vera (68) are tied in third place at 12-under alongside Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (68) and South Africa’s Zander Lombard (65).
