Justin Walters heads into the final round of the UK Championship with a two-shot lead, but Martin Kaymer stormed into contention at the Belfry.

Although Walters again got nowhere near his remarkable eight-under 64 from day one, his 69 on Saturday was a two-shot improvement on Friday's round and it was enough to keep him ahead of the field going into the decisive 18 holes.

It might have been even better were it not for the pair of bogeys carded on holes four and 11, but the South African remains in charge as he hopes to clinch his first win on the European Tour by going wire-to-wire.

And despite it being uncharted territory for him, Walters is feeling relaxed.

"I was really impressed with myself to be honest," he said. "I've never been in this position – on a Friday I don't think I've ever led a tournament – but I woke up unusually calm.

"I just wanted to go out there and stick with what I thought, keep playing aggressively and whatever came my way came my way. I stayed with it, gave myself the best chance of making birdies. For the most part I just wanted to be aggressive and I think that panned out for me today."

Kaymer looks primed to test Walters' mettle on Sunday, however, with the two-time major winner aiming for his first tour victory since the 2014 US Open.

A level-par 72 on Friday left Kaymer with a lot of work to get into contention, but a six-under 66 in round three left him two behind Walters but arguably looking a little sharper.

Bogeys on the sixth and 12th showed it was not all perfect for the 11-time European Tour event winner, but four birdies in five holes from the 13th onwards saw him finish Saturday in a tie for second alongside Frenchman Benjamin Hebert, who went around in 70.

"I was hitting the ball fine the last three days, I just needed one of those days where the putter was good and hot," Kaymer said. "This was one of those days."

Laurie Canter signed the score of the day with 65, leaving him as one of four – with Jorge Campillo, Rasmus Hojgaard and Marcus Armitage – on seven under for the tournament, three adrift of Kaymer and Hebert.