Peter Lawrie carded a second consecutive round of 68 to remain the leading Irish player and post a score of 12 under at the Portugal Masters – still six shots off the leader Pablo Martin of Spain.
Pablo Martin carded a nine under par 63 to race into a three shot lead with a round to play at the Oceanico Victoria Course in another day of low scoring on the Algarve, as the Spaniard signed for two eagles and a birdie in his first five holes, before registering four unanswered birdies on the back nine.
In 2007 Martin became the first amateur in history to win on The European Tour but then suffered a loss of form for two years and was on the verge of losing his card this time last year.
On 18 under par, Martin is three clear of Jeppe Huldahl and Oliver Wilson.
Dane Huldahl equalled The European Tour record for birdies in a single round with 12 as he shaved five shots of his previous best score in a round of 61.
The former Celtic Manor Wales Open champion started the day nine shots behind halfway leader Maarten Lafeber having birdied his two closing holes on Friday just to make the cut.
The 28 year old went on a magnificent birdie blitz from the 11th with seven in a row, the run only coming to a halt with a par four at the difficult closing hole.
It was a remarkable turnaround for a man who, on Thursday, ran up a quadruple bogey eight on the seventh after some confusion over whether his ball had entered a hazard and was four over at the turn in his first round as a result.
Wilson, nine times a runner-up on The European Tour but yet to win, put himself in a good position once more as the Englishman added a 65 to rounds of 70 and 66.
The 30 year old managed a bogey free card, completing his scoring with a seventh birdie of the day from eight feet at the penultimate hole.
South African Thomas Aiken and Finn Mikko Ilonen share fourth on 14 under, while halfway leader Lafeber is joined by compatriot Joost Luiten, in-form Englishman John Parry and local pro Ricardo Santos a shot further back.
Damien McGrane recovered ground with a third round 68 to move up to 9 under overall along with Paul McGinley - who came into the clubhouse with a 71.
Michael Hoey was eight under after a third round 69.
Shane Lowry dropped back after a round of 75 left him four over par – three shots down from Friday night.
