Richard McEvoy and Bryson DeChambeau maintained their one-shot lead heading into the back nine on the final day of the Porsche European Open but the field was closing in at Green Eagle Golf Courses.
The leading duo entered the day at 12 under but both turned in a one over par 35 to leave the door ajar for the chasing pack.
Masters Tournament champion Patrick Reed was also one over at the turn to sit at ten under alongside Italian Renato Paratore, who made two birdies in 11 holes to move up the leaderboard.
Swede Christofer Blomstrand and Scot David Drysdale were then at nine under, a shot clear of Paul Casey, Matthias Schwab, Hideto Tanihara and Romain Wattel.
England's McEvoy and American DeChambeau were both chasing a maiden European Tour win but in very different circumstances, with McEvoy making appearance number 285 and DeChambeau playing just his second regular event on European soil.
DeChambeau and McEvoy both made routine pars on their first three holes and Reed was the first man to make a move, holing a ten-foot right-to-lefter on the same hole to join the lead.
Reed then found the hazard with his second on the fourth but got up and down from his drop to surrender a single stroke.
The water over the back of the fourth green was a popular spot and while DeChambeau also dropped only a single shot after finding it, McEvoy led alone after four pars.
DeChambeau three-putted the fifth for a second consecutive bogey and when Reed narrowly avoided the water ahead on the sixth and failed to get up and down, McEvoy led by two.
The 39 year old did get wet on the sixth but he did brilliantly to drop just a single shot and still lead by one.
The door was opening for the rest of the pack, however, and Drysdale joined the group a shot off the lead.
The 43 year old had birdied the first but he gave the shot back on the third before hitting a brilliant approach into the fourth to get to nine under. A nice tee-shot into the eighth then set up a third birdie of the day and he was into double figures.
That was soon two-back, though, as McEvoy hit a stunning approach into the seventh, with DeChambeau missing a good birdie opportunity.
He made his gain from right on the fringe on the next and when McEvoy failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker, there was a tie at the top again.
A poor chip on the tenth led to a Drysdale bogey and he dropped back alongside Paratore and Blomstrand who may have been seeing the door open for them.
Blomstrand tuned in 31 with gains on the second, fourth and seventh and, while he dropped a shot on the tenth, a long putt on the 11th saw him pick it back up.
A nice approach into the seventh meant Paratore had a single birdie in his opening ten holes before a long putt on the 11th put him within one.
Japanese Tanihara was two under through 13 holes and the only player in the group three off the lead in red numbers.
