Eagle finish gives George Murray one-stroke lead in Egypt

George Murray holed his 143-yard approach shot to the 18th hole in the third round of the European Challenge Tour's Egyptian Open presented by Sodic, to take a one-shot lead into the final day.

The Scotsman, who finished birdie-birdie-eagle at the JW Marriott Mirage City Golf Club in Cairo, leads from Dutchman Floris de Vries and Italy's Alessandro Tadini, as he bids to win the $40,000 (25,000) first prize and barge his way into a battle to win the Challenge Tour Rankings at next week's Apulia San Domenico Grand Final in Puglia, Italy.

Murray, winner of the Scottish Hydro Challenge in June, is ninth on the rankings and could move into the top three with a win in Cairo. The top 20 players in the Grand Final will earn promotion to the main Tour.

"I was playing alright and never had any great chances and then had a pretty explosive finish," said Murray, who is ten shots ahead of world No 9 Rory McIlroy after three rounds.

"I had 143 yards on the 18th and my caddie was trying to get me to hit a gap wedge and I said 'no, no my friend, give me the wedge' and she took one bounce and went straight in. I'm looking forward to tomorrow now - I am playing with a lot more confidence now, which has just been a culmination of doing everything a bit better this year. I have had some great results, with the win in Scotland obviously the highlight so far. It would be nice to win another one tomorrow and pick up that big cheque again."

While Murray has his eyes on the main prize, his countryman Scott Jamieson battled back during his third round with two birdies in the last two holes to shoot a level par 72 for six-under 210. Jamieson is 15th on the rankings and looking to move into the top ten over the next eight days to guarantee the best possible Tour card for next year.

A brilliant finish of four birdies in his closing six holes saw McIlroy get to grips with his game, having struggled to find his best form because of an on-going swing change.

McIlroy finally saw some light at the end of the technical tunnel after his rousing finish ensured a third round of three-under-par 69 and a two-under total of 214 heading into the final round.

"I am usually pretty quick with swing changes and stuff but it takes everyone at least a little while to get comfortable with it," said McIlroy.

"It feels a lot better. Today I focused more on the target, had a pre-shot rehearsal of what I was trying to do then I tried the swing and it seemed to work pretty well."