Rafa Echenique lost his magic but kept his lead in the French Open Alstom at Le Golf National near Paris today.

Rafa Echenique lost his magic but kept his lead in the French Open Alstom at Le Golf National near Paris today.

By adding 'only' a 70 to his opening rounds of 65 and 67, however, the 28-year-old from Argentina still has a lot of work to do to claim his first European Tour title - one worth a massive £565,025.

Echenique, second in Munich last week after an albatross two on the final hole, is 11 under par after three rounds on the Albatross course.

He needed a closing birdie this time to edge back ahead of Martin Kaymer, the German whose opening, course record-equalling 62 on Thursday had given him a three-stroke advantage.

England's Paul Waring, another seeking his maiden win on the circuit, is in third place only two back following a 68 - and, thanks to four birdies in the last five holes, former amateur team-mate Seve Benson, named after the Spanish superstar, matched that score to be alongside Australian left-hander Richard Green and Swede Peter Hanson in fourth.

Lee Westwood remains four behind after a 70 that sent him straight to the practice putting green, but much happier with their games were Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie.

Poulter, who at The Open the week after next will be trying to go one better than he did last year, fired a 66 to improve from 31st to 10th.

Montgomerie, runner-up in this event last year and without a top-10 finish since, charged from joint 62nd to 11th with a day's best 65.

At five and six behind, respectively, they are not completely out of it yet.

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Poulter and Montgomerie then gave a memory of Turnberry that shows how far they have both come in their careers.

The last time the championship was played on the Ayrshire links was 1994 and Poulter remembers that that was the year he left the amateur ranks with a four handicap and worked as an assistant at the Jack O'Legs club in Hitchin.

"The Open would have been on TV and I would have been dusting and polishing the pro shop thinking 'Get me out of here - surely this tin of Pledge is going to run out sooner or later'."

Montgomerie first went to Turnberry to apply for a job with International Management Group, but while there went on the course, shot a back nine 29 and decided to turn pro instead.

"If I'd shot 39 who knows?" said the man who went on to win eight Order of Merits and is now, of course, Ryder Cup captain.

He thought he had missed the cut this week after taking a triple bogey seven at the end of his second round, but his 65 was enough for him to urge people not to dismiss his chances of figuring prominently in what could be his last Open.

"God no - I was eighth there in 1994 and The Open gives me my best opportunity if it's fast-running," he commented after a display which included a 97-yard pitch into the sixth hole for an eagle two.

There were also four birdies and best of those was a 204-yard four-iron to within a few inches of the flag on the difficult 17th.

"That's what I used to do. I've been making far too many mistakes - there were a load of crazy ones yesterday - and it starts with hitting fairways.

"If I do that I can play to my strength, my iron play. This was a very important round for me going forward and I've just got to keep at it hoping it will come back one day.

"That seven killed things off here. I've now got to move up as high as I can - I don't need the money, but I need the points."

Montgomerie's world ranking has fallen to 211th and he is down at 94th on the European money list. He has not been that low since he turned professional in 1987.

Echenique mixed two birdies with two bogeys on the front nine, started the inward half with eight successive pars and then produced a glorious iron to seven feet on the 470-yard 18th.

Kaymer's only bogey came on the first and he then grabbed birdies at the sixth, seventh and 17th to strengthen his bid for a third Tour triumph.

Waring and Benson are battling not just for the title, but also the one Open spot up for grabs this week.

Echenique said: "That last birdie was very good because the putter just didn't work for me today.

"When you are playing in the last group in these conditions then you are always going to be a little nervous, but after the first three holes I realised that I should calm down and try to play my game.

"This is one of the biggest and best events on the European Tour and I believe that I can do it. I did it in the Argentinian Open, so why not here?"