Jeunghun Wang opened up a three-shot lead as the third round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters moved towards its conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
The South Korean was one of a record-breaking nine players to come into day three with a share of the lead at Doha Golf Club and he picked up five shots in his first 11 holes to get to 13 under.
Rafa Cabrera Bello, Nathan Kimsey and Joakim Lagergren were then in the clubhouse at ten under, with Jaco Van Zyl and Andy Sullivan also at that mark having just made the turn.
Wang was crowned the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 2016 after claiming back-to-back wins in the spring and he is showing no signs of a sophomore slump in the new campaign.
He hit his tee-shot to the third to four feet and another smart approach to the fifth got him into double figures. His eagle putt on the ninth left him a tap-in birdie and he chipped in on the tenth before holing a 20-footer on the 11th to take control.
Earlier, Qualifying School winner Kimsey had opened with a birdie and added another on the fourth but his round really came to life as he rattled off three in a row from the eighth to hit the summit.
Another birdie on the 14th handed him a two-shot lead but he dropped a shot on the 15th before bouncing back on the next.
Spaniard Cabrera Bello had turned in 35 but an eagle on the par five tenth kicked him into gear and he added further gains on the 14th and 16th before putting his approach to five feet on the last for a closing birdie.
Lagergren opened with a birdie and a double-bogey but then made three gains in a row before adding another on the seventh to turn in 33. Back-to-back birdies on the tenth and 11th then had him at ten under before he gave the shot back on the next.
A neat up-and-down on the last then moved him into a share of the clubhouse lead.
Sullivan bogeyed the first but a sensational flop shot on the sixth brought a birdie and, while he bogeyed the next, he went birdie-eagle round the turn to fly up the leaderboard.
South African Van Zyl had birdies on the eighth and tenth playing alongside Wang.
French duo Romain Langasque and Mike Lorenzo-Vera were then in the clubhouse at nine under, alongside Thomas Aiken, Kiradech Aphibarbnnrat, Paul Dunne and Nacho Elvira who were on the back nine.
