Muscat: Morocco's Yassin Touhami continued with his good run to top the leaderboard of the 36th Arab Golf Championship for men at the Ghala Golf Club on Friday.
Also maintaining a healthy run in the Team event was Saudi Arabia, who held on to a comfortable lead over defending champions Morocco.
After two good rounds on Wednesday and Thursday, Touhami ensured that he held a good cushion over his rivals with a 2 under par 70 in the third round on Friday for a total of 3 under 213, which was seven clear of his immediate rival Issa Abou El Ela of Egypt, who had a par score of 72 on Friday.
Gong into the final round on Saturday, Issa has a gross score of 4 over par 220 and appears to be no threat for Touhammi in his march to the coveted crown.
In third place was Saudi Arabia's Othman Al Mulla (5 over par 221), who notched a 2 over par 74 in the penultimate round.
Oman's Azzan Al Rumhy fell to a joint twelfth place after he struggled to a 6 over par 78 in the third round and will be hoping to finish among the top ten on Saturday.
In the team event, following Saudi Arabia were Morocco and Tunisia, while hosts Oman were tenth among the twelve teams in fray.
Meanwhile, the tournament will draw to a close on Saturday under the patronage of Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, the Minister of Oil and Gas.
The closing ceremony will be held under the auspices of Sheikh Fahim bun Sultan Al Qasimi, the chairman of the Arab Golf Federation.
Meanwhile, Oman player Hussein Al Balushi said the competition was tough and the team is doing the best to achieve good results,
The Arab Federation chairman Al Qasimi will also a chair the annual general meeting of the Arab body on Saturday, where important decisions will be taken.