Wu Ashun holed out twice on the front nine to move to ten under and open up a three shot lead on day three of the 2020 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The Chinese made a spectacular eagle on the first and added two more gains in his first ten holes to get to ten under and lead the way from defending champion Bryson De Chambeau, another American in Kurt Kitayama, South African pair Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Dean Burmester, and English duo Tom Lewis and Eddie Pepperell.
Wu finished 137th on the Race to Dubai last season but was showing the form that has made him a three time European Tour winner at Emirates Golf Club.
His opening tee shot found the rough but his second was perfect, hitting the front of the green and rolling into the cup for an eagle and a share of the lead.
He played a poor bunker shot on the par five third but once again recovered in style, holing a chip to get to nine under and hit the front.
Pepperell joined him from 15 feet on the par five but the overnight leader found a horrible lie off the tee at the fifth and dropped a shot after being forced to lay up.
Kitayama had birdied the second and he holed a long putt at the seventh and then put an approach to ten feet at the ninth to turn in 32 and sit in a share of second.
And he was second on his own when Pepperell failed to get up and down from a bunker on the sixth.
That was soon two back of Wu, however, as the 34-year-old made his birdie on the par five tenth to get to double figures.
Kitayama then found a nasty lie off the tee at the 12th and Wu was the leader by three.
Lewis had five birdies in his first 16 holes, while Bezuidenhout recovered from an opening bogey with three birdies in his first 11.
Burmester and DeChambeau were both level par for their first nine holes.
Dane Søren Kjeldsen was the clubhouse leader at six under after matching the lowest round of the week with a 65.
