Pablo Larrazábal dropped an early shot but maintained his two-shot lead as Valderrama continued to bare its teeth on day three of the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation.
The home favourite came into the weekend ahead of England's Andrew Johnston, with the duo the only players in the field under par after winds made scoring difficult on Friday on one of the toughest courses in world golf.
Larrazábal soon became the only man in red numbers as Johnston dropped a shot on the second to drop to level par, but the Spaniard made a bogey of his own on the third to drop to two under and hold a two-shot lead after three holes.
Two-time Major Championship winner Martin Kaymer was the man making a move in the early stages, with birdies on the fourth and fifth moving him up to level par alongside Johnston, Alejandro Cañizares, Craig Lee and Alexander Levy.
Cañizares and Levy were level par for their rounds after three holes, while Lee recovered from an opening bogey with birdies on the third and fourth.
Larrazábal said after opening the tournament with a three under par 68 that level par over the next three days may be enough to claim victory this week, and he was currently being proved correct as he goes in search of a fifth European Tour title.
Thomas Bjørn bucked the high scoring trend to turn in two under par 33 to get to three over for the tournament, while fellow Dane Søren Kjeldsen made the turn in level par to sit a further shot back.
