Tom McKibbin will enter the final round of the Qatar Masters one shot off the lead as he chases a second DP World title.
McKibbin hit his lowest round of the week, a four-under-par 68, to move to nine-under par overall, a shot behind the trio of Rikuya Hoshino of Japan, France's Ugo Coussaud and Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard.
Seven players held the lead in some capacity during a roller-coaster Saturday at Doha Golf Club before the leading trio nudged ahead.
After an opening birdie, McKibbin three-putted on the second to record a bogey, but it would be his only dropped shot of the day.
He’d go on to collect birdies at the 10th, 12th, 16th and 18th - saving from the sand on the closing par-five hole - leaving the 21-year-old in a great position for a tilt at the title on Sunday.
"Very solid, I sort of started off slow on the front nine, it was playing tricky enough, so to get through the front nine level, which I think I’ve done most days, was solid," he told the DP World Tour website.
"I gave myself a target on the back nine to go two or three-under, thankfully I went one better. Overall a pretty good day."
Overnight leader Haydn Barron briefly increased his total to 10 under after opening with a birdie before his challenge quickly tailed off thanks to three dropped shots and a triple bogey on his front nine.
The chasing pack closed in as Barron slipped down to seven under, with playing partner Hoshino, Hojgaard, Ewen Ferguson and Paul Waring all moving into the five-strong leading group.
Hoshino birdied the seventh hole to climb to the top at eight under, but Ferguson was on the charge further ahead as he moved in front for the first time on his own.
Ferguson had to wait until the seventh to pick up his first shot of the day, but a run of six birdies in eight holes saw him alone at nine under after 14 holes.
Coussaud moved to that mark on the back of a hat-trick of birdies from the eighth, only for Hoshino to surge ahead at 10 under following gains at the ninth and 10th.
The Japanese player immediately handed a shot back at the next, just as Coussaud climbed into a two-shot lead at 11 under thanks to successive birdies from the 12th.
Coussaud's lead was cut by one when he bogeyed the 15th and Hojgaard quickly joined him at the summit with a birdie at the penultimate hole.
Hoshino made it a three-way lead at the top by copying the Dane’s score at the 17th before all the trio each parred the closing hole.
Additional reporting: PA
