Golf: Lloyd Saltman holds huge lead going into final round

The Aegon ace, who has won on the third-tier circuit before, added a second-round 64 to his opening 65 in Murcia.

And, on a 15-under-par aggregate, he held a commanding eight-shot advantage heading into the concluding 18 holes.

Saltman, who secured a step up to the European Tour for the first time at the end of last season, hadn't played competitively for nearly three weeks before heading for Spain. He only entered this event to try and stop the rust setting in before he heads for India in a fortnight's time for the Avantha Masters.

But the 25-year-old has been in masterful form on the opening two days to leave a decent field trailing in his wake.

On an easier scoring day, he was quick out of the blocks yesterday, picking up four birdies in his opening six holes to race to the turn in 32.

In a flawless display, the Archerfield Links player added two more birdies, as well as an eagle-3 at the 14th, to give himself a huge cushion heading into the final round.

His two brothers, Elliot and Zack, also occupied spots inside the top 15 after their second rounds.

Elliot shot a fine 67 that included three birdies in his last three holes, putting him in a share of seventh on four-under.

And Zack, the youngest of the three siblings, followed up his 72 with a 70 to sit in joint-14th on two-under. Craigielaw's Shaun McAllister also made it into the final round after bouncing back from a disappointing 77 in the first round.

In a display that will give him a lot of encouragement, he posted six birdies in a 69 to lie in a tie for 28th on two-over.

But it was a disappointing start to the year for Swanston New's John Gallacher, who missed out by four shots after rounds of 78 and 74.

Meanwhile, European Tour officials have said they were powerless to prevent Elliot from competing in this week's event at a time when he is serving a three-month ban after being found guilty of cheating.

"The Hi5 Tour contacted us to tell us he was playing in their event and to ask if we had any issue with it," said David Garland, the European Tour's director of operations.

"As they don't have an affiliation with the European Tour it was entirely up to them whether or not to let him play."