Ignacio Garrido held off Mark Foster to regain the lead midway through the third afternoon of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
On a course that will host the 2014 Ryder Cup, Foster, the leader on day one, had initially birdied the second to go level with the Spaniard but Garrido opened up a two shot lead with birdies on the third and fifth.
However, the Englishman eagled the ninth to move level with Garrido on ten under par, before the Spaniard birdied the same hole to move a shot clear.
Pablo Larrazábal, through ten holes, followed a bogey on the first with birdies on the second, seventh and eighth to continue his surge up the leaderboard and move two shots off the lead.
Irishman Peter Lawrie parred his first eight holes before a birdie on the ninth saw him move level with the Spaniard on eight under par.
Thomas Björn had caught Garrido after birdieing the second but a bogey on the third saw him drop to seven under par alongside Scotsman Stephen Gallacher, who made six birdies, including three consecutive starting from the 14th.
Sweden's Joel Sjöholm soon found himself moving up the leaderboard after eagling the second and birdieing the third and, despite bogies on the fifth and sixth, he threw himself back into contention with three more bogies.
Italian Lorenzo Gagli is six under par after a bogey on the ninth.
Englishman Richard McEvoy, who, despite suffering two bogies, made two birdies on the eighth and ninth to move to six under par and Englishman James Morrison also threw himself into the mix after birdieing the second. However, a bogey on the fifth did check his progress.
South African George Coetzee followed up his 69 yesterday with a 68 after countering two consecutive bogies on the second and third with seven birdies to move four shots off the lead.
America's Anthony Kang started well with birdies on the first two holes but a bogey on the eighth saw him drop to six under par and Scotland's Marc Warren birdied the first two holes but a bogey on the fifth hindered his charge.
England's Kenneth Ferrie, who shared the lead yesterday, struggled to assert himself on his third round with a bogey on the first and sixth and is five under.
Chris Doak, the Scotsman, shot five birdies, including two consecutive on the 14th and 15th, to move to five under par, while Irish Open champion Simon Dyson started well this morning, birdieing the first, fourth and ninth but dropped a shot on the 14th.
Swede Magnus Carlsson shot two birdies and a bogey to stay in the touch.
Carlos Del Moral made an excellent start to his third round with a birdie and an eagle in his first two holes, but, even despite bogies on the third, seventh, 11th and 15th, he finished with a three under par 69 and stays five shots off the lead after bogies on the final two holes.
Fellow Spaniard Alejandro Caòizares, who made 72 in his opening two rounds, shot a four under par 68 after five birdies, including two consecutive in his last two holes.
Paraguay's Marco Ruiz shot 69, his best of the week, after birdieing his last three holes, while Swede Oscar Floren shot birdies on the 13th, 16th and 17th but finished two under after a bogey on the last.
Defending champion Edoardo Molinari tried to climb his way up the leaderboard but three birdies were overshadowed by bogies on the sixth and 13th, leaving him with a three under par 69, his best of the week, but some way ahead of his brother Francesco, who ended the third round two over following another 74.
Argentina's Tano Goya, who shared the lead at one stage yesterday before shooting a 76, had another indifferent round, overcoming a bogey on the first, with birdies on the fourth and seventh and an eagle on the ninth but another bogey on the 14th and a six on the three par 17th saw him slide down the leaderboard on two under par.
Colin Montgomerie, one under at halfway, birdied the long second, the tenth and last but double-bogeyed the 431 yard third and made six more bogies to finish with a third round 77, his worst of the week so far, to leave him four over par.
