Shane Lowry is just three shots of the lead at the British Masters after his two under par 69 on Saturday’s third round.
The Offaly man holds a piece of tied fifth, behind joint-leaders Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Matthew Fitzpatrick from England on 12 under.
Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark are also ahead of him on minus eleven.
Lowry has been in good form all week, following up his first round five under par with back-to-back 69s for a 204 total at the three-quarter way mark.
Fitzpatrick kept up his hopes of becoming the youngest-ever winner of the British Masters when the 21-year-old ended the third round in a share of the lead.
The Englishman has held the lead on his own or shared it throughout this week's €4 million event.
He produced a cool par save at the 18th hole to post a three under par 68 for a 12-under aggregate of 201.
Fitzpatrick looked like dropping a shot at the last but he got up and down from an awkward spot in a green-side bunker.
He will break fellow countryman Justin Rose's 2002 record for the youngest winner if he goes on to claim the first prize of €620,000 on Sunday.
The big-hitting Kiradech, known for his 'go for broke' style, picked up four birdies in a faultless 67.
However, the identity of the eventual winner is anyone's guess as a total of 14 players are within five strokes of the leaders.
Zanotti (66) and Kjeldsen (69) were in a tie for third place, two ahead of England's Luke Donald and Richard Bland, Lowry and Frenchman Romain Wattel.
This tournament could provide former world number one Donald with his first European Tour title in more than three years, just a month after he was sacked by his caddie.
Donald fired a flawless third round of 65 on the Marquess course.
"I have got myself in a great position and I would love to go out there tomorrow and shoot another round like that," said Donald, who admitted he was surprised when his caddie of six years, John McLaren, decided to end their partnership.
"I would just like to win any tournament to be honest, but it would be a little more special in the UK. It's been a bit of a dry spell for me and I would love to get back in that winners' circle.
Meanwhile, the European Tour did not set a dangerous precedent by allowing Rory McIlroy to compete in the Final Series even though he has failed to play the minimum number of 2014-15 events, its chief executive said.
Keith Pelley, who took over from George O'Grady in August, insists that the protocol he observed in making his decision would be applied to everyone else if the situation occurred again in the future.
Asked if he had created a dangerous precedent, Pelley replied: "I totally disagree. I think if that was to happen with another player I would go through the exact same forensic analysis.
"With Rory I understood the commitments he had in America and we had external doctors verify the fact he couldn't play in more tournaments (than the obligatory 13).”
The Final Series, a lucrative four-tournament series that brings the curtain down on the European season, kicks off at the Turkish Airlines Open this month and ends with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November.
World number three McIlroy (pictured above), who is based in Florida but is the biggest attraction on the European Tour, ruptured ankle ligaments in a friendly game of soccer in July and the Northern Irishman's season was severely disrupted as a result.
