Gavin Green and Wu Ashun joined Hideto Tanihara at the top of the leaderboard as the third round of the Omega European Masters got into full swing at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Japanese Tanihara entered the day with a two-shot lead but Malaysian Green reeled him in with eight birdies in 16 holes, while China's Wu was four under through eight.
Three opening pars kept Tanihara at nine under, a shot clear of defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick and two ahead of Italian Nino Bertasio, English pair Daniel Brooks and Lee Westwood, American Doug Ghim and South African Haydn Porteous.
Green and Tanihara are both seeking maiden wins in their first full seasons on Tour, while Wu is a two-time European Tour winner.
There was movement in the field early but nobody could get any closer to the leader before he teed off, with Tanihara missing a six-foot birdie chance on the first.
The lead was eventually trimmed by Wu, who birdied the third, holed from seven feet on the fifth and put his approach on the next to four feet.
Green then joined the party at eight under thanks to two birdie bursts.
The reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit winner was level par stood on the seventh tee but made three birdies in a row and then rattled off another hat-trick from the 13th.
Fitzpatrick hit a lovely approach into the second to join the group in second while Tanihara played an excellent bunker shot to help save his par.
The 14-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour soon had company at the top, though, as Green holed from 15 feet on the 16th to make it four birdies in a row and get to nine under.
Wu was also a man on a roll and he put his tee-shot on the eighth inside 12 feet and rolled home a fourth birdie of the day.
Bertasio and Westwood were both four under through 13 holes, with Brooks turning in 32, Porteous one under through four and Ghim level par after three.
2014 champion David Lipsky was the clubhouse leader at six under, the American overcoming a double-bogey on the fifth with birdies on the second, sixth, seventh, 11th, 14th and 15th in a 66.
