Donaldson at head of crowded leaderboard in Cyprus

Jamie Donaldson opened up a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2020 Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open but he had a huge chasing pack within striking distance in Paphos.

The Welshman entered round three in a share of the lead after returning to complete his second round early on Saturday morning and held the solo advantage at 14 under after 54 holes.

But the top 15 were separated by just three shots at Aphrodite Hills Resort and a mouthwatering final day was in prospect.

Donaldson's 69 left him one ahead of Finnish pair Kalle Samooja and Sami Välimäki, England's Marcus Armitage, Belgian Thomas Detry and Scot David Drysdale.

Donaldson is a three-time winner on the European Tour and famously hit the shot that sealed the winning point for Europe at the 2014 Ryder Cup, a year that saw him finish a career-high fourth on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.

He lost his card in a 2018 season that saw him finish the campaign in October due to wrist surgery and he did not return until the following May, playing off his career earnings exemption.

LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN IN SIX YEARS

Playing on a medical extension this season and an invitation this week, the 45-year-old is starting to show his best form with two top 10s in a run of eight made cuts, and believes he is finally putting his injury troubles behind him as he looks for a first victory in six years.

"I'm just working hard, really," he said. "I'm not getting any younger so it's a case of just deciding what you want to do, and what I want to do is play golf.

"It's a case of working really hard to get back to playing decent again and contending, which is what I'm doing now and it's great. I was really happy with the way I've been playing recently, it's just a case now of getting match fit towards winning tournaments again, which I'm doing, getting better all the time again.

"It just took a long time after the wrist injury. You think it's going to be quite quick and it just took a long time. Even when I was back playing, I wasn't ready, but you don't know that until now and now it's good. We just keep going.

"I played nicely today, have played good for three rounds. Tomorrow is the most important day, so tomorrow is the day I need to produce my best golf if I'm going to win. There are a lot of guys up there. I just need to go out there and play as well as I can play."

Välimäki birdied the second and then holed from eight feet at the next to join the lead alongside Donaldson and Armitage, before a tee shot to six feet at the fifth meant he was alone in front.

The 22-year-old then got a nasty slice of luck as his second at the sixth hit a tree and went out of bounds, with the resulting bogey briefly handing us a four-way tie for the lead.

Donaldson was the man who broke out of it as he got up and down to take advantage of the par-five sixth and move to 13 under but a three-putt from 40 feet on the next meant there were six players in a share of the lead.

Matthias Schwab was one of them as he took advantage of the par-five 10th after birdies on the fifth, seventh and ninth, and an approach to five feet on the 11th made it a hat-trick of gains and he led alone.

A tee shot to six feet on the 12th then made it six birdies in eight holes and the 25-year-old led by two.

The Austrian then bogeyed the next and while there was another five-way tie at one point, it soon fell to three as Välimäki and Donaldson both got up and down to make the most of the tenth and sit at 13 under.

An approach to five feet at the 11th set up another birdie for Donaldson and he broke out to lead again.

A very short missed putt from Donaldson at the 12th made it a logjam once again and Samooja was part of it as he set the clubhouse target after a 64 with birdies on the second, third, fifth, sixth, tenth, 11th, 15th and 18th, and a dropped shot on the 16th.

A long putt at the 13th edged Donaldson back ahead but three putts from a long way out at the 15th meant there was another share and Detry became the tenth player to sit at the top of the leaderboard over the course of day.

He made a two-putt birdie on the last to go with gains on the fifth, sixth, tenth, 11th and 17th, and bogeys on the second and 15th.

Välimäki had bogeyed the 13th but he made a two-putt birdie on the 18th, while playing partner Drysdale made a remarkable birdie as he got up and down from the putting green to add to gains on the fifth, eighth, tenth and 13th, and bogeys on the 11th and 17th.

Armitage bogeyed the fifth and 12th but took advantage of the tenth and got back level for the day on the 14th before putting his following tee shot to ten feet.

South Africa's Garrick Higgo, Scot Robert MacIntyre, Dane Jeff Winther and English pair Callum Shinkwin and Jordan Smith were at 12 under, a shot clear of Schwab - who double-bogeyed the 13th and dropped a shot on the 17th - Frenchman Adrien Saddier, India's Shubhankar Sharma and England's Dale Whitnell.

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