Lucas Bjerregaard birdied the last three holes to move to within one shot of leader Branden Grace going into Sunday's final round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, South Africa.

The Dane turned at level par but blitzed the back nine as four birdies and an eagle gave him a six-under-par 66, the best round on a difficult day when scores under 70 were at a premium.

South African Grace, who led by five shots going into Saturday’s round, battled with a course he had looked totally at ease with in his opening two rounds as four bogeys meant he carded a level-par 72.

His total of 16 under par left him one ahead of Bjerregaard, who has never won on the European Tour, and two in front of Briton Danny Willett, last weekend's Nedbank Challenge winner.

Willett continued to make scoring look easy as he sunk seven birdies in his third round, but a double-bogey on the par-four ninth denied him a share of the lead. Italian Francesco Molinari carded a 70 for a total of 13 under par with South Africa's former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen lurking three shots further back.

Kevin Phelan, the only Irish man remaining after the cut, shot a level-par 72 to remain on one under par.