Luke Donald set the clubhouse target on day three of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports as he surged up a congested leaderboard at Woburn.
Matthew Fitzpatrick and Søren Kjeldsen had held the overnight lead and they maintained that through 10 holes with both players on 11 under but Donald was just two behind after firing six brides in a blemish-free 65.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Fabrizo Zanotti sat between Donald and the leaders at 10 under just after the turn with 18 players within five shots of the lead.
Eddie Pepperell made the early charge with a birdie on the second before giving the shot straight back. His momentum was not slowed, however, and the Englishman made further gains on the fourth and sixth before an eagle on the par five seventh took him to six under for the tournament.
The 24 year old then dropped a shot on the eighth but picked it back up on the ninth to make the turn in 31 and sit just three behind leaders as they teed off.
Kjeldsen holed a 12-foot putt from the fringe on the first to get to 10 under but three putts on the next saw him give the shot back, although he maintained the lead as Fitzpatrick went through the back of the green then left his chip short to also bogey.
Pepperell made another birdie on the 11th to get to seven under and when Shane Lowry and Robert Karlsson dropped shots on third, he was alone in fifth.
Aphibarnrat had made steady progress over his first three holes but an eight-foot putt gave him a birdie on the fourth to move into a share of the lead before Fitzpatrick in the group behind produced a carbon copy to make it a three-way tie at the top.
Richard Bland, who was experiencing back trouble, was quietly going about his business with four pars to sit at eight under but the group behind him was swelling with Lowry picking a shot back up, Zanotti birdieing the sixth and Donald making back-to-back birdies to get to seven under.
Lowry was on the move again with another birdie on the sixth getting him to eight under before Bland rolled in a huge putt up the hill on the same hole to get into a share of the lead and he was soon joined by Zanotti.
The Paraguayan had a touch of good fortune as his second shot on the seventh took a nice bounce out of the rough and he took advantage to make an eagle.
Those in the final two groups were struggling to get going and that gave two former World Number Ones a chance to move up as Donald made a fifth birdie in eight holes at the 15th to get to eight under and Lee Westwood secured back-to-back gains to sit a shot behind.
Lowry was next to join the party at the top of the leaderboard with a birdie on the seventh making it a six-way tie but that would last only seconds as Aphibarnrat followed him in to get to 10 under.
Zanotti then dropped back into the group at eight under with a bogey on the eighth where he was joined by Mike Lorenzo-Vera who holed back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th.
Back on the seventh, Bland, Fitzpatrick and Kjeldsen then all made birdies to move back into a share of the lead where they were just one clear of Donald who made his sixth birdie of the day on the 15th.
The two men who had started the day out in front then made sure they were there at the turn as Fitzpatrick and Kjeldsen both birdied the ninth to get to 11 under while Bland recorded back-back bogeys to sink to eight under.
Pepperell had looked on course to set the clubhouse target but he had to take a drop on the 18th after finding the trees and recorded a triple bogey to finish the day four under.
Zanotti then birdied the tenth and 11th to get back to ten under while Bland stopped the rot with a gain on the tenth.
