Jens Dantorp birdied the final three holes to lead the Scottish Open by one shot, but Matt Fitzpatrick, Ryan Fox and Scott Hend surged into contention to join a six-man cluster in second that includes Rickie Fowler.
Overnight leader Robert Rock endured a day to forget, carding a six-over-par 76 – the worst score of the third round - at the Gullane Golf Club.
Rock's misfortune left the door open for the chasing pack and English compatriot Fitzpatrick was among those to take advantage.
Fitzpatrick birdied four of his opening five holes amid breezy conditions and went on to make further gains at the 10th and 13th en route to a 64 that left him 12 under for the tournament.
Fox, who lost last week's Irish Open on a play-off to Russell Knox, and Hend both went one stroke lower than Fitzpatrick.
There were six birdies, an eagle and just a solitary bogey for New Zealander Fox, while Australian Hend was blemish free in his round of seven under.
Dantorp holds a slender advantage, though. The Swede saw two bogeys sandwich a birdie in the opening three holes, but three gains to close after a stretch of 12 pars saw him hit the front.
Fowler remains an ominous presence, but his day was more mixed as five birdies were negated somewhat by three bogeys including consecutive dropped shots at the sixth and seventh.
Marcel Siem also climbed up the leaderboard with a five-under 65, while Alexander Bjork is also just one shot back.
In a congested leaderboard, Knox is just two strokes adrift of the leaders in a tie for eighth with Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton, while Justin Rose and Thomas Pieters are among seven players three shots back.
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