Lee Westwood will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Nordea Masters after keeping the chasing pack at bay in Stockholm.
A round of 68 was good enough for Westwood to maintain the advantage he had enjoyed at the halfway stage at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, although England's Ross Fisher rather than Swede Peter Hanson is now his nearest challenger.
Westwood finished the day on 16 under par, with Fisher 13 under after a superb 65 and Ryder Cup team-mate Hanson a further shot back after a battling 69.
"I played well, hit a lot of good shots and it was some solid stuff," Westwood told Sky Sports 3. "I didn't really get into too much trouble. I got a bit of a flier on the second and that was the only bogey I made all day."
Westwood had started in the perfect fashion with a birdie on the par-five first, but that flier on the second saw him run up a bogey five.
The world number three bounced back quickly with a stunning approach to the par-three fourth which finished just inches from the flag to set up the easiest of birdies.
A number of other chances went begging on the front nine before Westwood rolled in a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th to ensure he would keep his nose in front following yesterday's superb 64.
"I did misread a couple of putts on the front nine, the one on five and the one on eight, but other than that I putted well," he added.
"I've read the greens well this week and rolled in a couple of nice ones on the back nine.
"It (the weather) changed coming up 14, the breeze picked up a little bit and made 14, 15, 16 play a bit tricky. That's what happens round this golf course, it's quite exposed out there on the lake and it's no easy finish."
Westwood and Hanson played together for the third day running, with the Swede doing well to remain in contention after running up a double-bogey six on the eighth to be out in 37.
Four birdies on the back nine saw Hanson home in 32 to finish 12 under, but Fisher will partner Westwood tomorrow after his flawless 65.
Fisher put last week's one-shot penalty for slow play during the final round of the Wales Open firmly behind him, carding three birdies on the front nine and four on the back to storm up the leaderboard.
England's Richard Bland is five shots off the lead in fourth after a 68, with Swedish duo Michael Jonzon and Alexander Noren sharing fifth another shot back.
Defending champion Noren looked out of contention after an opening 74, but has responded with consecutive rounds of 66.
Collated third round scores and totals , Bro Hoff Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):
200 Lee Westwood 68 64 68
203 Ross Fisher 70 68 65
204 Peter Hanson (Swe) 67 68 69
205 Richard Bland 67 70 68
206 Alexander Noren (Swe) 74 66 66, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 68 68 70
207 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 68 67 72, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 73 66 68, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 69 68, Estanislao Goya (Arg) 70 68 69, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 70 68 69, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 70 68, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 69 71 67, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 72 70 65, Gregory Havret (Fra) 70 69 68
208 Daniel Denison 68 70 70, Andy Sullivan 68 71 69, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 69 69 70, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den) 71 68 69, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 69 70, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 70 70 68
209 Peter Whiteford 71 69 69, Jens Dantorp (Swe) 76 67 66, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70 68, Anthony Wall 69 70 70, Andrew Marshall 73 70 66, Richard Green (Aus) 72 69 68, Jamie Donaldson 72 69 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 67 69 73, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 69 69, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 69 67 73
210 Roope Kakko (Fin) 70 68 72, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 65 72 73, Kristoffer Broberg (Swe) 71 68 71, Lloyd Saltman 71 64 75, Johan Edfors (Swe) 72 69 69, Tjaart Van Der Walt (Rsa) 72 68 70, Reinier Saxton (Ned) 70 70 70, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 69 69
211 Chris Wood 71 66 74, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 68 71 72, Pablo Martin (Spa) 75 66 70, Jason Knutzon (USA) 72 71 68
212 Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 68 68 76, David Howell 72 70 70, Matthew Nixon 71 71 70, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 69 72, Robin Wingardh (Swe) 68 73 71, Mark Foster 70 71 71
213 Gary Orr 72 70 71, Romain Wattel (Fra) 72 71 70, Gareth Maybin 74 67 72, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 71 65 77
214 Brett Rumford (Aus) 69 71 74, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 71 69 74, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 70 71 73, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 69 74 71, Matthew Baldwin 67 76 71
215 Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 73 68 74, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 72 70 73, Daniel Gaunt (Aus) 71 72 72, Jesper Kennegard (Swe) 73 70 72, Edouard Dubois (Fra) 75 66 74, David Lynn 70 73 72, Graeme Storm 73 70 72, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 73 70 72, Knut Borsheim (Nor) 76 67 72, Michael Hoey 70 68 77
216 Mark F Haastrup (Den) 73 69 74
217 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 70 75, Niklas Bruzelius (Swe) 71 71 75, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 69 74 74, Tim Sluiter (Ned) 70 73 74, Richard McEvoy 71 72 74
218 Jamie Elson 73 70 75
