Guido Migliozzi birdied three of his last four holes in a bogey-free 67 to join Laurie Canter at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round of the European Open.
The Italian started the day six shots behind overnight leader Canter but six unanswered birdies moved him to 12 under at Green Eagle Golf Courses as he looks for a fourth DP World Tour win.
Canter held a four-shot lead early in the round but dropped three shots in as many holes around the turn before showing all of his battling qualities to card a level-par 73 and get back to the summit.
Dane Niklas Nørgaard was one shot off the lead after a 71, one ahead of home favourite Jannik De Bruyn and Frenchman Tom Vaillant.
Migliozzi had a slow start to the season but finished second at the recent Volvo China Open and had a top 10 here over the Porsche Nord Course in 2019.
He has been under par in nine of his last 10 rounds and is glad to be enjoying his golf again as he returns to form.
“I played great, I played solid, I was very focused on every shot,” he said. “It was not easy to be in the present but I managed the day today very well.
“I feel more comfortable on the golf course, I’m having fun. I’m feeling the shots better so to have the power to have more consistency on the shots gives me more confidence.
“It’s good to be in the mix tomorrow. I’m just going to try to do the same: stay focused shot by shot and stay patient.”
Englishman Canter is looking for a first DP World Tour win having finished second on four occasions and was pleased with the way he was able to stay in the mix while not at his best.
“I really want to win,” he said. “There’s nothing for me to lose or worry about in that respect. I’m going to try and win the tournament.
“I felt like I tried to do that today. I felt at times today that round could have got away from me and turned to two, three over par. Hopefully that’s the sticky round behind me.
“I did not play well today. I hung in pretty well, I had some really good little up-and-downs on the back nine to keep myself in it so overall I’m pretty pleased with that.”
Canter made a two-putt birdie on the par-five 4th to extend his advantage to four but he missed a short putt to surrender a bogey on the 8th and when he made a double after losing a ball off the tee on the 10th, he was no longer on top.
De Bruyn had found water on the 3rd to drop a shot but hit back with a beautiful chip to set up a gain on the next and then holed a bunker shot on the 5th.
An approach to 10 feet at the 7th moved him to 11 under and three pars saw him in the solo lead as Canter stumbled.
Vaillant put on a masterclass with his irons on the front nine, getting inside 10 feet on the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th, with a tidy lay-up on the 11th getting him within one.
A tap-in at the par-three 14th put him alongside De Bruyn but it would be all change back at the 11th as the home favourite found the water and Canter played an excellent chip from on the green to set up a birdie and rejoin the lead.
Vaillant would bogey the 17th after missing the green to sign for a 68 and De Bruyn birdied the par-five 15th after coming up just short of the green with his second but they would all be passed by Migliozzi.
The 27-year-old left himself 10 feet at the 3rd and got up and down for birdie at the par-five 9th and 11th before a late flourish sent him to the summit.
Smart pitches at the 15th and 16th brought further gains on the two par fives and a 19-footer on the next brought a fist-pumping celebration as he got to 12 under.
Canter played a beautiful chip from over the back of the 18th green to join him, with Nørgaard also getting up and down for a birdie that handed him a 71 and solo second.
He had earlier holed a long putt on the 5th, got up and down on the 11th and made a two-putt birdie on the 15th, while also dropping shots on the 9th and 12th.
De Bruyn bogeyed the 17th in a 72 that left him a shot clear of Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, who carded a 67 to sit at nine under.
Defending champion Tom McKibbin made four birdies in a row on the back nine in a 71 that left him four shots off the lead alongside Spaniard Ivan Cantero and South African Jayden Schaper.
Schaper’s round of 71 included four birdies and two bogeys.
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– Edited report from DP World Tour website
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