Lee Westwood produced the shot of the week so far to set up an eagle on the par five eighth for a 65 that moved him to -14, a shot clear of Italian Francesco Laporta and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger. He hit his 3 wood 270 yards to the fringe where it took a soft bounce and rolled up to 3 feet.
Wiesberger finished with three birdies in a 65 of his own as he looks to become the first player to win three different Rolex Series events and hold three Rolex Series trophies at the same time, while 2019 Road to Mallorca winner Laporta carded a 69.
England's Matthew Fitzpatrick was -12, a shot clear of Major Champion Sergio Garcia and American Kurt Kitayama.
Westwood ended a four year European Tour drought with an emotional victory at the 2018 Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, and would take his tally to a remarkable 25 wins with a triumph in the desert.
He would also become the eighth man to win multiple Rolex Series events, joining countrymen Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose and Danny Willett, Wiesberger, Swede Alex Noren and four time winner Jon Rahm.
"It's always a bonus to be in contention and that's basically why we come out here," said Westwood.
"I'm not going to lie, I didn't play a lot of golf coming into it, didn't know what to expect. To be in the lead with one round to go, it's a real positive. I'm just going to go out there and play as well as I can and if it's good enough, then great. I know I'm talented enough to win the tournament, it's just a case of applying myself."
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