Swede Fredrik Jacobson - who broke the course record with an opening 64 and then crashed to a 76 - regained the lead in the Algarve Portuguese Open at Vale do Lobo today.
It was the turn of Greg Owen and Marcel Siem - first and second at halfway - to tumble to 76's in the third round and Jacobson's 71 on a day when only four of the 72 players broke par was good enough to put him back at the head of things.
Winner of his first European Tour title in Hong Kong in December - after six second places - Jacobson stands on the five-under-par mark of 211 in his first tournament for nearly three months following a wrist injury.
Owen, four clear at one stage, fell back alongside Londoner Brian Davis on four under after dropping five strokes in six holes after the turn.
"Hopefully that's my bad round," said the Mansfield golfer, who has had 19 top-10 finishes without ever doing better than third.
"I still feel I'm swinging it well and I'm only one behind, but this was just one of those days."
He had a really lucky break on the 405-yard 12th, his hooked six-iron finishing on the out-of-bounds line. Referee Gary Tait was called and ruled that Owen's ball was in play by a quarter-of-an inch.
He still bogeyed and two holes later no official was needed as he drove out of bounds for the second day running.
This time it was a carve right rather than a hook left, but the result was the same - a double-bogey six.
Missing a two-putt par putt on the next added to his worries and when he hit a simple-looking pitch into a bunker on the long 17th, he was in danger of dropping yet another shot. Owen saved par, though, and closed with another.
Jacobson went out in a two-under 35 and his only dropped shot coming home was a bogey at the 12th, where he drove right and then pitched through the green.
Asked if he was surprised to be back in front the 28-year-old said: "I didn't watch the leaderboard that much, but I saw Greg was nine under and I thought he would be miles ahead by the end.
"I just wanted to try and dig in to stay close enough to have a chance in the final round."
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell continued his slide down the leaderboard with an uninspired third round 76.
Despite being the only Irish survivor from six after the halfway cut, McDowell will be left to rue a missed opportunity to challenge after being tied fifth on the opening day. Instead, at five-over, the Scandinavian Masters is 10 shots off the pace and too far back to challenge the leaders.
PA