Simon Thornton goes into today’s fourth day at the Portugal Masters in joint second place.

Thornton is tied with three others on 14 under at the Algarve course. South Africa’s Hennie Otto, Scott Jamieson of Scotland and Jamie Donaldson of England are also on 14 under par.

Thornton shot a 6 under 65 yesterday to firmly position himself amongst the contenders for the final day.

The four are two shots off Paul Waring, who leads the tournament on 16 under.

David Higgins and Paul McGinley are the only other Irish remaining in the field and both are currently on the field. Higgins is on 6 under, having hit a double bogie on the par 4 first but cancelled it out with 3 birdies over the next three holes. McGinley is on 5 under overall and level par for the day.