A go-for-broke style of play left Chris Doak and Lee Harper two clear of the field going into today's final round of the £45,000 Northern Open over the new Spey Valley course.

Both threw caution to the wind and spurned the safety-first policy of the majority of the field at the controversial seventh hole on the Dave Thomas-designed layout in the shadow of the Cairngorms and walked off with birdie 3s.

The standard play this week has been no more than a six iron from the tee to lay up short of fairway bunkers leaving a long-iron approach, but the top two took driver and blasted over into a narrow landing area.

The penalty for missing is severe with deep heather on either side and there have been plenty high scores there this week including a 15 in the first round.

"You feel the fear," said Doak, a former Northern Open champion and Tartan Tour No.1, "and go for it anyway."

The 30-year-old had a two-under-par 70 for an eight-under-par total of 208, the same as Harper, who had a 69 yesterday.

Harper had been five under for the day but dropped shots at the 16th, where he three-putted, and 18th, where he hit his approach through the back and failed to get up and down.

The diminutive former Scottish boys champion, 26, said: "I would have taken 69 on the first tee and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. This is a big event with a lot of players with tour experience. I'm trying to step up each season and I want to play on the bigger tours."

Harper, just 5ft 5ins, has already collected £10,000 for winning a Europro Tour event, but even though the first prize tomorrow is less at £8000, he regards the Northern Open as a more prestigious title.

Two of the players with tour experience, Paul McKechnie and Euan Little, a former European Tour player, are in hot pursuit after rounds of 66 and 67 respectively for 210 yesterday, one ahead of Tartan tour stalwart Robert Arnott, who had a 69.

McKechnie's round would have been a course record had the preferred lies rule not been in operation on the young fairways. "I capitalised on my good shots for a change," said the 31-year-old former Europro Tour No.1 who stepped up to the Challenge Tour but had to give up that campaign through lack of funding.

"I've been working hard over the winter, and after six months training I am hitting the ball slightly further than before and it's been taking time for me to adjust to that," said the Colin Brooks-coached player.

Andrew Oldcorn, the former PGA champion, had a 74 - he also took driver at the seventh but found heather that resulted in a bogey 5 - to leave him on an aggregate of one-under 215, the same score as veteran Adam Hunter, the former Portuguese Open champion, who showed signs of his form of yore with a 69.

David Orr and Greig Hutcheon, another two players who quit the Challenge Tour for financial reasons, moved up the field with 68 and 72 respectively for 214 leaving the leaderboard intriguingly set.