Lucas Bjerregaard recorded a 65 on a remarkable day of low scoring at Topwin Golf and Country Club to share the 54-hole lead at the Volvo China Open alongside Felipe Aguilar.
The big-hitting Dane enjoyed a stunning end to the 2015 season with three top threes in his last nine events on his way to 34th in The Race to Dubai but has yet to register a top ten this term after making some changes to his swing.
He spoke after his second round 67 how he felt his game was coming together and everything looked in fine order on Saturday as he joined Aguilar at the top of the leaderboard on 16 under, with the Chilean signing for a 67.
Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts matched the low round of the day with a 65 of his own to sit at 14 under alongside home favourite Li Haotong, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton and Swede Alex Noren.
A win for Bjerregaard would be his first on The European Tour after he finished second at last season's UBS Hong Kong Open in a run of five top tens in eight events.
"I played nicely today and got things going a little bit on three there, holed a six iron from 160 metres but other than that the front nine was pretty quiet," he said.
"I hit some good shots on the back nine and making some putts as well, then I thinned my chip shot over the green on 17 and then made the putt from there so all in all a very good day.
I had a couple of good runs at the end of last year so I'll try and use all the experience I got there and try and go out and finish it off tomorrow - Lucas Bjerregaard
Aguilar has two titles to his name but a victory here would be a brilliant return to form after making just one of his previous seven cuts.
Bjerregaard began his round in fine style, holing his approach at the par four third for eagle, and then he added another birdie at the eighth but he trailed overnight leader Aguilar by three at the turn.
The 41 year old birdied the first and fourth with some brilliant approach play, adding a 30-foot putt at the third and another gain on the eighth.
Bjerregaard birdied the 11th and 12th and missed a chance to join the lead at the 15th, but made up for it when he put his approach on the next to three feet. An impressive par save followed on the 17th before a birdie on the last set the clubhouse target.
Aguilar then played the 18th beautifully, making a birdie of his own to get back to the top of the leaderboard.
He feels his putting has been key this week and revealed that is no small part to fellow player Fabrizio Zanotti.
"My putting is my weakest part of my golf game," he said. "It's been very poor for the last six months and I switched putter this week and that was thanks to Fabrizio Zanotti.
"I went in his bag and took his putter. He was kind enough to let me use it and I think that's been the biggest difference, that I've made some putts that I really needed to make.
You have so many players out here who can shoot a low score and tomorrow somebody who wins is going to have to shoot a low score - Felipe Aguilar
"Hopefully it will be me."
Colsaerts, winner of this event in 2011 at Luxehills International Country Club, was blemish-free and shot up the leaderboard with four birdies in five holes after the turn, while Li delighted the home crowd with four in a row from the fifth in his 66.
Hatton birdied three of his last four and had an eagle on the eighth in a 67, with Noren overcoming a double-bogey on the fifth by also eagling the eighth as he went round in 68.
Frenchman Grégory Havret signed for a 67 to sit at 13 under, a shot clear of Richard Bland, Peter Hanson, Marcel Siem and Zanotti on a day when 27 players signed for sub-70 rounds.
