Marco Penge breaks club while pulling four clear of the field at Open de Espana

Despite frequent trips to the trees around Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, including that costly visit on the second hole, Penge put on an exhibition in a run of eight birdies in ten holes for a 64 to lead by four strokes at 16 under par after 54 holes.

Playing partner Joel Girrbach was his nearest challenger at 12 under, with Patrick Reed and Dan Brown a shot further back and Tom McKibbin ten under.

"I was just trying to go as low as I could," Penge said afterwards. "I've learnt in the past that when you're leading, you can't just… not play steady, that's not the right word, but you've got to be going forward because everyone else will catch you up.

"It was nice to prove to myself that I can do it."

Penge began the day nine under, one shot ahead of Girrbach, Jeff Winther and Aaron Cockerill.

There was little among the early starters to back up the tag of 'Moving Day', though Calum Hill shot 66 and Thriston Lawrence birdied three of his first seven holes.

Three in the first four for David Puig took the young home player, the third member of last year's memorable final group with Jon Rahm and champion Angel Hidalgo, to seven under and two off the lead.

Penge broke his wedge playing from beneath a tree at the second, though he brilliantly scrambled to save his par.

"My ball was just behind the tree, I didn't really have a follow-through - I knew it was going to break," he admitted in an on-course interview. "I kind of picked a club I didn't think I was going to need the rest of the way, just made sure not to hit my hand on the tree and... yeah, poor pitching wedge."

Rahm made an ominous move as, though his eagle at the fourth was followed by a bogey, he birdied the next three to reach seven under. That was two off the lead, newly held by Alexander Levy as the Frenchman holed a long birdie putt at the fifth just as Penge suffered his first bogey in 30 holes.

Levy bogeyed the next and birdies for Puig at the eighth, Reed at the sixth and three in a row from the seventh for day one leader Ugo Coussaud made it a remarkable eight-way tie at the top.

Girrbach was first to break out as he finished his front nine with five birdies in six holes to power to 12 under.

Penge rejoined him at the top with four straight gains around the turn, and moved ahead on his own after another magical escape from the trees on the 13th. He bludgeoned his second shot into the rough just right of the green and brilliantly chipped in for birdie - with his lead immediately extended to two when Girrbach's par putt stayed up.

Penge holed a 17-foot putt at the next and then got out of the trees yet again at the next to remarkably shave the hole with an eagle putt, instead settling for a seventh birdie in eight holes.

Dan Brown, on his 31st birthday, had emerged as his nearest challenger but bogeyed the par-three 17th to drop to 11 under alongside Reed and Girrbach - with Penge stretching his lead to five with yet another birdie at the 16th.

He finished with two pars, with Girrbach's birdie at the last taking one shot out of the deficit.

"Whatever the outcome is, it's going to be a great experience, great memories for me," said Penge. "I just love playing golf, I love competing, I love playing in front of big crowds like we have here. I love to challenge myself, whether that's good or bad.

"So tomorrow's just another day for me, tomorrow doesn't define anything, it's just another day, an 18-hole round of golf. Whatever happens, happens, it's not the end of the world, I've still got my family at home and all that stuff so I'm lucky."

Girrbach had his own run of five birdies in six hole from the fourth as he, Reed, Brown and McKibbin all shot 67.

The group of five players at nine under featured Coussaud, who bounced back from Friday's 73 with a 66, Levy, Bernd Wiesberger, Thorbjørn Olesen and Grant Forrest.

Puig and Angel Ayora were the leading Spaniards at eight under, with Rahm's round losing momentum on the back nine as he ended the day four under.

There were holes-in-one for John Parry - at the 17th, where a new BMW iX3 was on offer as a prize - as his 66 took him to six under, and fellow Englishman Dan Bradbury at the ninth as he sat alongside Rahm at four under.