Renato Paratore turned in a blemish free 32 to extend his lead to two shots on day three of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood.
The Italian entered Moving Day at Close House Golf Club with a one shot advantage but was leapfrogged by England's Sam Horsfield, who posted the lowest round of his European Tour career with a 61.
With a clubhouse target to chase, Paratore showed no signs of backing down, and made three birdies on the front nine to get to 14 under and lead the way from Horsfield, another Englishman in Dale Whitnell, South Africa's Justin Harding and Dane Rasmus Højgaard.
Horsfield carded a 59 playing with friends during the coronavirus hiatus and he almost matched the feat with a competitive card in hand after starting the day nine shots off the lead.
He made birdies on the first and third and, while he dropped a shot on the fourth, there was no stopping him after an eagle on the seventh.
The 23-year-old birdied the eighth and ninth and eagled the tenth to make it six shots gained in four holes, before he birdied the 16th and made a three on the par five 17th to register three eagles in a tournament round for the first time.
That handed him a one shot lead but he was not alone at the top for long as Paratore put his second to tap-in range at the second to get to 12 under.
Playing partner Whitnell chipped in at the same hole to sit one back and Højgaard soon joined that group as he followed a birdie at the second with a tap-in at the sixth.
Harding had dropped a shot on the second but putts from ten and 15 feet on the next two holes had him within one of the lead.
Højgaard briefly joined the lead with a two-putt birdie on the seventh but Paratore holed from 15 feet on the sixth and led by two when he got up and down from over the back of the next.
Whitnell made a second chip-in of the day on the seventh to get to 12 under, making it a group of four including Harding, who had also taken advantage of the par five.
Home favourites then closed out the top ten with Ashley Chesters, Oliver Fisher and Robert Rock at ten under, one clear of Andy Sullivan and Jack Senior, who had earlier made a hole-in-one on the 14th.
