Also teeing off will be Aberdeen's RichieRamsay, the only Scot to have won on the European Tour this season, and compatriots Andrew Coltart, Alastair Forsyth, Paul Lawrie, Gary Orr and Marc Warren.
Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee fired a six-under par round of 66 to leave him in fourth on nine-under par with England's David Howell (68), Scotland's RichieRamsay (67) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain (71) one shot further back.