Damien McGrane carded a level par 72 and lies 11 shots behind the top two while Peter Lawrie is currently three shots further back after a one over par 73.

The pressure of being the hunted was not a factor for Dyson as he saw his outright lead become a joint one at the end of round three. He made a flying start with an eagle at the first, followed by two birdies in his next three holes, but on-song Buckle quickly came into play.

The Australian stormed into the lead by the 17th. ButDyson claimed he was not put off by Buckle's birdiemaking, which numbered seven in his round of 65, because he was thinking only of his own game.

"I never looked at the boards, " he said. "I didn't even know I was clear of the field.

He [Buckle] must have played lovely. Seven under is a great round today. I try not to watch the leaderboards, to be honest. I just want to be playing as I have been and shooting sub-par rounds.

"I'm sure Andrew is looking forward to it as much as I am. I've never met him, but I'm sure we'll get on just fine.

"I think if one of us shoots four or five under tomorrow, that could take it."

Buckle, on the other hand, was well aware he was homing in on Dyson as he whittled away his rival's lead, which was three strokes at one stage.

"The holes the leaderboards are on makes it pretty hard to miss them, " he said.

"You see them, but it is only the third round, so it's all about getting yourself in position for Sunday. There are a lot of good players up there and any of them are capable of shooting a good score, so we'll see what happens."

The Brisbane-born man has played only two European Tour events this season, but has performed well in both, finishing tied-15th at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters and the Johnny Walker Classic. He is also confident that he can maintain his form going into the last day, even if he has not faced this scenario too many times before in his fledgling career.

"I'm playing well, I'm hitting my tee shots well, keeping it on the fairway on most holes, " he added. "I hit a couple of shots off-line, but I managed to get out of trouble. I'm also putting well which is the main thing.

The lead pair are three shots ahead of their nearest challenger, Wang Ter-Chang of Taiwan. His round was a series of missed birdie opportunities and after making an eagle at the first, he was unable to pick up another shot until the 15th hole, which ensured the leaders were able to gain a potentially decisive advantage. Nevertheless, the 43-year-old was pleased with how he had performed.

"I played the first very well, " he said. "I hit a good drive and then a five iron to just five inches, which I tapped in. It was the perfect start. After that I was very steady, but I couldn't make any putts. " Elsewhere, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were preparing to do battle in the third round of the Ford Championship at Doral in Florida in a reprise of a memorable last round duel at the same event last year.

After trailing by one when Woods opened with a 64, Mickelson birdied two of his last three holes of the second round for a 66 while Woods was adding a 67.

Padraig Harrington was still in touch at eight under with one to play, but needing a closing par for a second successive 68 he fluffed a chip, then three-putted for a double bogey six.