The 31-year-old South African surrendered his position at the top of the leaderboard on Saturday, with Gallacher’s 10-under par bettering Sterne’s six for a four-shot swing and a three-stroke advantage overall.

However, with the front-running duo set for a head-to-head duel as the last pair to tee off on Sunday, Sterne is relishing the role of chief pursuer as opposed to being cautiously protective at the very summit.

“I’m quite happy. I’ve given myself a chance going into Sunday,” he said. “I’m in the last group again, which will hopefully be a lot of fun. I’ll try to put a good score on there and some pressure on Stephen. He shot 63 (on Thursday) and I walked past him and said: ‘Cannot you shoot 62 around here?’ He answered me!

“I’m happy for him. He’s a good player and he’s got quite a good record around here; he’s had a couple of top fives. It’s going to take some doing, but – as Stephen showed today – a low score is out there, so someone can still post a good one.

“We’ll see. I’m in a decent position. I’m perhaps a bit more comfortable not leading going into the last round. I’m excited. I’ve just got to hole a couple of good putts at the right time again. I made a couple of long ones, but missed a few short ones today. Hopefully, they all go in on Sunday.”

alex@khaleejtimes.com