SCOTLAND hold a seemingly unassailable lead in the Johnnie Walker European Team Championships at Atalaya Park, Marbella, Spain.

The Scots start today's third and final round on 12 under par, nine ahead of defending champions Spain.

A four under par 68 by Craig Ronald, the odd man out of three on the first day, kept up the momentum, while John Chillas followed up with a round of three under par.

England, like many of the remaining 19 competing nations, failed to master the alarmingly fast and deceptive greens and are now left with a minor placing as their most likely target alongside Spain, Ireland and the Czech Republic.