Scotland’s Paul Lawrie is on the verge creating Commerical Bank Qatar Masters history.

Lawrie is seeking to become the first man to lift the Mother of Pearl Trophy three times fter his triumphs in 1999 and 2012, while a win for Branden Grace, who is sharing second place at 11-under par, would make him the first player to successfully defend the title.

Paul Lawrie birdies the last to lead by two heading to the final round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

On a day when the trademark winds in Doha were the strongest they had been all week, Lawrie was a picture of consistency, recording 16 pars and birdies on the 14th and 18th to get to 13 under and open up a two-shot lead over Grace and Thorbjørn Olesen.

The South African outdid Lawrie with a run of 14 straight pars but they were book-ended by birdies on the first, 16th, 17th and 18th, while Olesen also finished well, with birdies on the 16th and 18th helping him to a 69.

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood was then at ten under alongside Rafa Cabrera-Bello, with 15 players within five shots of the lead.

World Number 11 Grace arrived in Qatar talking of his desire to break into the top ten after four consecutive top tens to start the season but for Lawrie, the ambitions are closer to home.

The Scot made the European Ryder Cup team both the previous years he won this event and a third victory would vault him into contention for Hazeltine in the autumn.

“There’s a lot of good players behind me. Branden Grace is obviously defending champion, won here before and well up the World Rankings.

“So tomorrow is going to be a different challenge but I’m looking forward to it.

“I had a couple top tens back-to-back last year at KLM and Denmark and really should have been higher up in both of them. I had a good chance to win both tournaments on the back nine.

“It’s not as though it’s been years, and hopefully I kind of get in there and hit the shots that I’m hitting and knock a few putts in and it all goes well.”

Despite signing for a 70 on a day when only six players could manage rounds in the 60s, Lawrie admitted to some frustration as the birdie putts failed to drop.

“I was a little frustrated today on the middle of the round,” he said. “I felt as though I hit an awful lot of good putts that didn’t go in, but I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

“It was nice to end the day on a positive note and hit a nice putt and it actually go in the right pace and right side of the hole, which is what we’re always looking to do.

“It was a tough day, the wind was blowing. You could tell by the scoreboard that it was hard to make birdies. So I got around there a bit frustrated but, two under, it’s a good day.”