Former Ryder Cup team-mates Des Smyth and Sam Torrance are on course for a double celebration at the Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship in Bahrain.

Smyth holds a three-stroke lead over England's Tony Allen going into the final round at Riffa Golf Club, following his second consecutive bogey-free 68, while Torrance has all but secured the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit title.

"I came here looking to win my first title on the European Seniors Tour," admitted Smyth, who narrowly missed achieving that feat when he was beaten by Tom Watson in a play-off for the Senior British Open Championship in July.

"There was less wind today but I didn't play as well as I did in my first round. I missed too many greens for my liking and had to make some good par saves, but I have to be happy with a second 68. I would certainly be happy with another one tomorrow."

Smyth birdied the second, seventh, 12th and 15th holes, but it was a par at the last that gave him, and the galleries, the most pleasure. After a good drive, Smyth blocked his second shot to the par five way right and was fortunate to get a free drop off a gravel flower bed.

He dropped his ball under a tree and picked it clean off the compacted desert sand to within five feet of the pin, which was tucked in the far left corner of the green. From there he narrowly missed his birdie putt and tapped in for a four-under-par 68 and a two round aggregate of 136, eight under par.

Torrance, who was a team-mate of Smyth's in the 1981 Ryder Cup, had earlier finished with three consecutive birdies for a 68, which means he now has a nine-stroke advantage over Carl Mason, his only rival for the Order of Merit, with 18 holes of the season left to play.

"It's not over yet - I can't start thinking that - but obviously I am close," said Torrance, who is in a share of 10th place on one under.

"Today it was beneficial for me that Carl wasn't anywhere in sight. I couldn't see him on the course, so I managed to keep my head straight, but I did have a sneaky look at the leaderboards now and then."

When he did, he saw that Mason had returned a score of one-over-par 73, which leaves the Englishman way down the field on eight-over-par 152.

If Torrance wins the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit he will complete a Scottish clean sweep following the successes of Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren on the main European Tour and Challenge Tour respectively.

No single nation has provided the winners of all three European tours in the same season.