Hanson grabs the lead in Morocco

European Tour

England's Chris Hanson will take a narrow one-shot lead into Sunday's final round of the Trophee Hassan II.

The Challenge Tour graduate shot the joint lowest round of the day – a five-under-par 67 – at the challenging Royal Golf Dar Es Salam lay-out in Rabat.

Hanson, ranked just 640th in the world, made the turn in two under after birdies at the first and seventh, before adding another at the 10th.

Then came the highlight of his round – a superb eagle on the long 12th – allowing him to snatch the outright lead on six under.

The 30-year-old made two more birdies after that but they were offset by two bogeys – though that was still good enough for a one-shot lead at the end of the day.

“It’s not something I thought I was going to go out there and shoot today but I played some really nice stuff and took my chances when I got them,” said Hanson.

“I felt I got rewarded for some good golf today.

“It was a little bit of a lucky chip – it hit the flag and dropped – but you need those sort of things and hopefully it will set me up for a nice Sunday.

“I drove the ball really nicely and kept myself in play a lot of the time. From there you can score on this golf course. 

Hanson's fellow Englishman David Dixon lies a shot behind alongside Frenchman Clement Berardo after matching the leader's round with seven birdies and two bogeys.

Joshua White, also from England, lies alone in fourth place a further shot back, followed by South Korean Jeugnhun Wang on three under.

A further seven players are tied for sixth on two under, including overnight leader Francesco Laporta, Jason Scrivener, Robert Rock and Nacho Elvira.

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