Miguel Angel Jiménez, who had a hole in one in the final round en route to winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club last year, recorded only the third albatross of The European Tour season.
Jiménez sank a 206 yard six iron on the long fourth to leap from three under par to six under - still seven adrift of overnight leader Paul Casey.
The other albatrosses were by Robert Allenby at the Sportsbet Australian Masters last November and Retief Goosen in the Joburg Open in January.
Casey's lead came down to two when he pulled his opening drive, was bunkered in two and then went over the green from there.
His bogey five left him 12 under, with Dane Søren Kjeldsen ten under and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and South African Charl Schwartzel one further back.
