Paul Lawrie takes two-shot lead in to Qatar Masters final round

Former Open champion Paul Lawrie continued his impressive record in bad weather and bolstered his chances of a third Qatar Masters title by moving two shots clear in Doha.

The 47-year-old, who won the event in 1999 and 2007, posted a two-under 70 in windy conditions which were tough for scoring to take a two-shot advantage in to the final round. 

Resuming one shot clear of Nicolas Colsaerts, Lawrie opened with a run of nine straight pars to stay at the top of the leaderboard.

Andrew Johnston briefly moved alongside Lawrie on 11 under by kicking off his back nine with a 15-foot birdie, only to hand back a shot at the next.

After an impressive save from 10 feet at the 12th and a two putt from distance at the next, Lawrie posted a first birdie of the day by rolling in an eight-footer at the 14th.

Lawrie's advantage extended to three as Johnston failed to save par at the 15th, although back-to-back gains from defending champion Branden Grace moved him within two of the lead.

Grace then coaxed in a six-foot birdie at the last to close a four-under 68 and halve the gap, with Tommy Fleetwood matching the South African's hat-trick of gains to sit a further stroke back.

A two-putt birdie from Thorbjorn Olesen on the drivable 16th lifted the Dane to 10 under, before the Alfred Dunhill Links Champion picked up another at the 18th to join Grace one off the pace.

Lawrie continued his impressive display with three consecutive pars from the 15th, missing an eight-footer at the penultimate hole, before rolling in from 10 feet at the last to double his advantage.

Birdies on the opening two holes helped Lee Slattery to a third-round 69 and put him within four of the lead, while a round-of-the-day 67 from Richard Bland keeps the Englishman part of the group with Bernd Wiesberger a further stroke back.

"I don't think I could have played one single stroke better than that," Wiesberger said after his two-under 70. "I was in trouble a lot, out of position, but just kept it together.

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"I need to work a bit on my driving for tomorrow. It needs to get better, a bit more into play and not get into positions I don't want to be in tomorrow."

Johnston will head in to the final round tied for sixth, while a final-hole eagle from Sergio Garcia keeps the Spaniard's slim hopes intact, closing a two over 74 to match Ernie Els on six under.

Nicolas Colsaerts, who twice held a share of the lead after birdies at the first and third, reached the turn in 37 before slipping out of contention with five dropped shots in a three-hole stretch along the back nine.

The Belgian ran up an ugly triple-bogey at the 14th when his shot from the waste area ricocheted off a tree and landed embedded in a bush, eventually closing a five-over 77.

Watch the final round of the Qatar Masters live on Saturday from 8.30am on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf