Jean Hugo will take a slender one-shot advantage over Stephen Gallacher into the final round of the Reignwood Legends Championship after an entertaining second day in China.

The South African followed his opening 65 with a five-under-par 67 to reach 12-under, while Road to Cambodia Order of Merit leader Gallacher produced the low round of the day, a seven-under-par 65, to move to 11-under.

Van Phillips, Matt Cort and Adilson da Silva share third place at seven-under, five shots off the pace heading into Sunday’s final round.

Gallacher wasted little time applying pressure to the overnight leader, opening with three consecutive birdies to quickly move alongside Hugo at the top of the leaderboard.

Maarten Lafeber, who began the day among the chasing pack, also joined the early battle at the top with birdies at the second and fourth. Gallacher pushed ahead with another gain at the fifth, before a bogey at the sixth briefly checked his momentum.

Lafeber was unable to maintain his early charge and dropped away from contention as the round progressed, while Gallacher continued to create opportunities and moved clear of the field. A bogey at his final hole saw the Scot drop back to 11-under, signing for a seven-under-par 65 to set the clubhouse target, one shot ahead of Hugo at that stage.

With the target set, Hugo remained patient. Despite admitting to making more mistakes than during his opening round, the South African kept himself firmly in the mix before delivering the decisive move late in the day.

A birdie at the eighth – his penultimate hole – edged Hugo back in front, and a closing par completed a five-under-par 67 and a 36-hole total of 132, enough to secure the overnight lead for the second successive day.

Behind the leading pair, Phillips continued his strong week with a six-under-par 66 to move into a share of third at seven-under.

Cort sits alongside him after adding a three-under-par 69, with da Silva completing the trio at seven-under as they look to close a five-shot deficit over the final 18 holes.

Peter Baker and David Drysdale share sixth place at five-under, while Jeev Milkha Singh, Joakim Haeggman and Johan Edfors are one shot further back at four-under.

It proved a more difficult second round for Phillip Archer, who had started the day in contention but made three bogeys across his opening four holes after beginning from the tenth, sending him down the leaderboard.

Hugo and Gallacher will now take centre stage on Sunday, with just one shot separating the pair and a chasing pack headed by Phillips, Cort and da Silva looking to make their move as the Reignwood Legends Championship reaches its conclusion.

For full leaderboard, click here.

Player Reactions

Jean Hugo (-12)

“Like I said yesterday, it’s quite a tricky course. We expected the wind to come up, but it was quite a nice day out there today and good for scoring.

“I made a few mistakes today that I didn’t do yesterday, but all in all, still very happy.

“Stevie is a great player, so we’ll have a good tussle tomorrow. I think just start solidly, keep to the plan and try and ignore all the noise.”

Stephen Gallacher (-11)

“I’m delighted with the way I played today. Pity about the last, it’s such a tough par four. I hit a poor shot, but I gave myself plenty of chances, putted well and was in control the whole day.

“My goal was always just to get in contention on a Sunday and then take it from there. I just stick to my processes. I’m hitting the ball well and if the putts go in tomorrow, I should have a chance.”

Van Phillips (-7)

“I just played really solid. I hardly missed a fairway, gave myself loads of chances and holed a few putts.

“I’ve been hitting the ball great all year, to be honest. I’ve been driving it fantastic, just not holing any putts. This week I’ve managed to knock a few in, so that’s nice.

“It’s brilliant. Probably the best course we play, I would say. All round, in terms of condition and the actual holes themselves, it’s hard to beat this course.”

Matt Cort (-7)

“I finished well here last year, so I’ve got good vibes from the course. The greens are running really fast. I’ve not holed loads, but I’ve holed putts when I needed to hole them, like on the last, so that was nice to keep the momentum going.

“I’ve been knocking on the door a little bit. I fancy I could get a win soon. Steve Gallacher’s playing well and this course kind of suits him, so he’s going to be tough to beat. But if the chance comes, then have a go.”

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