Golfers are an honest bunch so it's only natural that their assessments of affairs on the course will be true and straight to the point.

"I've been playing rubbish this year," admitted Robert Coles, as he reflected on a season of toil and trouble.

The highland air seems to be stirring the senses though. A third successive five-under 66 over Macdonald Spey Valley in Aviemore for a 15-under 198 thrust the Londoner into a share of the lead with compatriot Gary Boyd on day three of the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge and bolstered his bid to bridge a six year title gap on the second-tier circuit.

The Challenge Tour has proved to be, well, a bit of a challenge for Coles in 2015. Prior to a 12th place finish in France last week, the 42-year-old, who won the last of his three titles in 2009, had missed the cut in all five of the events he had contested. The salvage operation continues on Scottish soil.

A neatly assembled round was given a significant shot in the arm when Coles cracked a 3-wood to 15-feet on the fifth and holed the putt for an eagle before he upped the ante on the back nine with a telling thrust of three birdies in a row at 13, 14 and 15. Boyd, four shots clear of the field overnight, now has some company at the top.

"It's been a bit of a bonus this week," added Coles, who used to work on a market stall in London's Petticoat Lane to help fund his amateur career during those formative years. "I didn't expect to play this well this week. You can never quite put your finger on what is wrong but it's just been a combination of things. I changed my coach and went back to some old methods to see if that would help. You never enjoy coming home from tournaments on a Friday night. You want to be competing at the top so that keeps you going."

Boyd, who has endured a major slump in form since reaching a career high of 50th on the European Tour money list in 2010, saw his 54-hole lead eaten into after a one-under 70 but the 28-year-old is more than content with the position he is occupying. When you've been muddling away in the doldrums, you have to savour the highs of this fickle game. "If I think back to this tournament last year, I remember being so negative about my game," said Boyd. "Apart from having to withdraw in France last week with injury, I have had a chance to win my last three tournaments. I wouldn't have thought that was possible year or 18 months ago, so the progress I am making is really positive."

Thailand's Prom Meesawat tucked himself into third place with a 66 for 200 to give a bit of symmetry to proceedings in European golf this weekend. Out on the main circuit in Munich, the leaderboard also has two Englishmen and a Thai sitting in the first three places.

The Scots, meanwhile, have a sizeable catch up job their hands in Aviemore. Andrew McArthur (68) and Ross Kellett (70) lead the home assault but they are lagging seven shots off the pace with eight-under 205s. With a potentially disruptive deluge forecast this morning, tournament officials have devised a two-tee start for the closing round in an effort to combat Mother Nature's menacing advances. Kellett, the 27-year-old from Motherwell, is hoping the elements can aid the cause of those who are battling to hold on to the coat tails of the leaders.

"You never know, if it's blustery and wet they could come back to us a bit," said Kellett, who lies in a share of ninth place heading into the last day. "I still feel I can shoot a low score, it's do-able. I actually played better today than the score suggests but I just wasn't clinical enough. We are going to need a bit of help from the leaders now, though."