Matthias Schwab takes a three-shot lead into the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

The 24-year-old Austrian, who has led since the opening day, carded a third round of 66 to reach -18 for the week and stay clear of the pack.

Last year’s Masters champion Patrick Reed, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert Macintyre, Ross Fisher and Benjamin Hebert are all tied for second place.

Searching for his first European Tour victory, Schwab started the day with an eagle and had two more birdies before the turn.

He picked up two more shots on 10 and 11 and suffered a double on 12, only to respond with a birdie on the next hole and then pick up another shot on the last for a solid cushion at the top of the leaderboard.

Schwab said: “I'll just try and do the same stuff that I've been doing the last few days, and I'm sure pars will not be enough tomorrow because it's usually pretty gettable out here. I'll just be aggressive and keep doing what I've been doing.

“I really like the course and I really like Antalya and Turkey. The game plan is going to be the same as the first three days.”

Frenchman Hebert had the low round of the day with a 64 to move into contention, while American Reed shot 65 to put himself in the mix.

Reed believes his experience as a major and WGC champion could prove crucial and he said: “It's going to help a lot. With how this golf course is set up, it's going to be a sprint. It's not really a marathon through the 18 holes. It's going to be more kind of a sprint because we're going to be trailing, so we're going to have catch up.

“But at the same time, you've got to go make a lot of birdies. You have to go out and do something spectacular to move up.”

Justin Rose’s chances of defending his title suffered a major blow with his 73 leaving him at nine under par and nine shots off the pace.