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Organisers can be thankful that there are neither any English nor Spanish players in the mix for the Scottish Open, where Sunday's final round puts US viewers first with the leaders set to tee off at 1540 UK time.

It's fair to say there may not be many tuning in for the play-off if one is needed but with Ludvig Aberg having moved two clear with a strong finish to his third round, that scenario looks less likely did about an hour earlier when ROBERT MACINTYRE was in front.

MacIntyre has performed brilliantly to give himself another chance to win his home event, one year on from his heartbreaking second place, and he's not the playing partner you'd choose if you're on Aberg pre-tournament.

With a low floor but a high ceiling, and a hard-to-define quality which has seen him rise to occasions like this in the past, MacIntyre looks worth a small bet to bring the house down, little more than a month after capturing the Canadian Open with his dad on the bag.

An experience like that, plus the stunning charge he putt together here last year, culminating in a six-foot putt he thought had won him the tournament, will serve MacIntyre really well and he'll be roared on as the local hero.

Aberg is the most likely winner, but odds of 4/5 and 11/2 look to fall short of recognising that this is the Scottish Open, and Scotland's finest is in a wonderful position from which he might just pounce.

Further down the leaderboard the final battle for Open invites is fascinating, particularly as Antoine Rozner and Erik van Rooyen, currently positioned to each receive one, are paired together for the final round.

CAM DAVIS is first alternate but he'll be eager to take care of business given that he knows all too well what it's like to be the man stood around waiting all day in case somebody withdraws, because that's exactly what happened last year.

The recent Detroit winner has carded back-to-back rounds of 66 to move into that third spot as things stand, his superior world ranking effectively worth a shot should it come down to a tie which is currently the case.

I'm a fan of the classy Australian and want to back him in some way. The trouble is, Matty Jordan, his playing partner, is a fine links player in excellent form, so perhaps just a small play on Davis for the lowest final-round score is the way to go.

Sunday's forecast is calm and dry so later tee-times won't be a negative and at 55/1 with Sky Bet and BoyleSports, Davis is worth chancing, although keep something back for MAX KIEFFER too.

He's tied with Davis meaning he's very much in this battle for Open places and having shot 64 twice already this week, the incentivised German, whose sole DP World Tour win came courtesy of a final-round charge, is of interest at 150/1.

Kieffer hasn't yet played in an Open but now has a chance to qualify. Perhaps he can come out and fire at flags again and it's certainly rare for someone as high up the leaderboard as he is to all but prop up this market.

Finally, two-ball options are thin on the ground but local resident GRANT FORREST can take care of business against Daniel Hillier.

The latter has putted better than usual this week and so has Forrest on recent form, but he's often been excellent with that club down the years and seems more likely to reproduce in the final round.

With plenty of support and having shot closing rounds of 67 and 68 here in the past, Forrest at 21/20 rates value against a player who, like him, arrived here struggling for form.

Posted at 22210 BST on 13/07/24

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