England’s Steve Webster shot a 70 to share the top spot with Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello after the third round of the Qatar Masters on Friday.
Webster, who had taken the tournament by storm in the opening round with a first hole albatross, was slightly off colour on Friday as he missed a few key putts for birdies to waste the chance for an outright lead going into the final day.
Nevertheless he is still in great position to win his third title on the European Tour since turning pro in 1995 after overnight leader Cabrera-Bello also played an indifferent third round by posting a 73.
The Spaniard, who was on 13 under after the second round, scored just two birdies as against three birdies for 73 which gave him an aggregate of 12-under 204.
Frenchman Adrien Saddier, Dane Thorbjorn Olesen and South African Thomas Aiken were tied for third with 205, while five players including 2013 runner-up George Coetzee and former champion Paul Lawrie were a further shot down on 206.
Webster had a lacklustre front nine during which he dropped two shots on the fourth and fifth holes, but three birdies, including a 20 foot putt on the 14th, helped him retrieve the situation.
The Englishman, a former Portugal Masters and Italian Open champion, then was presented with an opportunity to take the outright lead on the last hole, but after a smooth chip to 10 feet he had to settle for par.
Webster admitted that a bit of overconfidence had crept into his play.
“I don’t know what happened first, I hit it really good on the range and I think I got a bit cocky on the course and hit so many bad shots the first, well, six, seven holes, and I just ?? I don’t know, really,” he said.
“And hit a really good putt on 11 and thought it feels a little bit better now. But the first six holes, it was like I never played golf before.”
He also said that the wind had made scoring difficult after two calm days.
Cabrera-Bello needed a birdie himself on the 18th to keep himself ahead of the chasing pack but suffered a bad bounce and had to make do with a share of the lead.
“I’m a little bit disappointed for not having to keep a couple shots ahead of the pack like I started the day,” the Spaniard said.
“I felt I had a moment that I could have if I maybe would have sunk the putt at the 12th for birdie, but I didn’t.”
Meanwhile, American John Daly, who was in the mix for his first title in 10 years with an eight-under 136 on Thursday, blew his chance with a five over 77 in the third round.
Daly had admitted that he found the Doha Golf Club course difficult, with a string of six bogeys on Friday proving his point as he found himself tied for 44th position with an aggregate of three-under 213.
