Belgian Thomas Pieters and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, leaders of the 15th edition of the Portugal Masters, are the main favorites for the final triumph at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, in Vilamoura.

With the third round of the Portuguese European Tour tournament concluded on Saturday, this Sunday is the day to meet the successor of South African George Coetzee, who lifted the present a year ago and is in a discreet 50th position, and Pieters and Pavon are the which stands out in the best position.

The title debate is, however, open as they both share command of the leaderboard with 197 shots, 16 under par, and hold a four-shot lead over third-placed Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, champion in the Algarve in 2017.

Among the three Portuguese who passed the ‘cut’, Ricardo Santos, effective member of the European Tour, continues to be the best placed, sharing 34th place with Stephen Gallacher from Scotland, both an aggregate of 210.

After 70 initial shots and a second card with 69 ‘shots’, Santos fulfilled the Par of the field in the third round and is three under in total, while Vítor Lopes and Tomás Gouveia are, tied, in 57th place in the classification , with an aggregate of 216 strokes.