Vancsik is down in 215th place on the European money list

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD:
-14 D Vancsik (Arg)
-10 M Vibe-Hastrup (Den)
-9 C Cevaer (Fra)
Selected others:
-8 E Little (Sco)
-1 B Drege (Wal)
Par J Van de Velde (Fra)

Daniel Vancsik stretched his Madeira Islands Open lead to four strokes after the third round to stay on course for a maiden European Tour win.

The Argentine overnight leader was caught early on but picked up shots at the fifth and seventh on his way to a bogey-free 68 to move to 14 under.

Dane Mads Vibe-Hastrup, also chasing a first win, is second on 10 under with Christian Cevaer one shot further back.

Euan Little leads the British pack as he is tied for fourth on eight under.

"It is surprising to me that this has happened," said the 30-year-old Vancsik, who rode his luck when his ball rebounded off a cart path on the 10th when it should have gone out of bounds.

"It is the first time I have had a really good chance to win and I hope I can stay focused."

The Argentine is playing only his second season on the main European circuit after performing well on the Challenge Tour. Last year, however, was a struggle as he missed 15 of 25 cuts and had to re-qualify.

Welshman Bradley Dredge and England's Kenneth Ferrie are both struggling to find their form as they prepare to make their debuts at next month's Masters.

Dredge showed some improvement to card 70 but remained 13 shots off the pace. Ferrie fared worse, shooting a 78 to lie 20 strokes adrift.