Damien McGrane's front nine 32 moved him into contention for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles as the third round began.
The Irishman eagled the par five second and followed that up with birdies at the sixth and ninth to climb to nine under.
That was the mark overnight co-leaders David Lynn, Gary Boyd and Julien Guerrier started the third round on and all three were level for their first three holes to make it a four-way tie at the top.
Amongst those just one shot off the pace was England's Simon Dyson - who can snatch a Ryder Cup place in the final qualifying event with a win on Sunday.
Also eight under was Edoardo Molinari - aiming to impress Captain Colin Montgomerie enough for one of his three wildcards - France's Gregory Bourdy and England's Mark Foster.
