Moving day has taken Min Woo Lee's challenge in the wrong direction at the Andalucia Masters as Spanish home hope Adrian Otaegui took an impressive grip on the European Tour event.

Any time a player shoots a level-par 71 around Valderrama, it's not to be sniffed at - but Lee's uneven third round was only good enough to leave him him fourth, seven shots behind the inspired Otaegui going into Sunday's final round.

Lee, joint leader overnight on nine-under alongside Otaegui and his compatriot Angel Hidalgo, had a poor day by his recent imperious standards, recording four bogeys alongside four birdies as his two Spanish playing partners began to forge away from him.

Otaegui was in a class of his own on Saturday, shooting a seven-under 64 and putting his two co-leaders and playing partners Lee and Hidalgo immediately under pressure as he reeled off four birdies in the first six holes.

In the meantime, despite birdieing the first for the third successive day, Lee's brilliant short game, which had bailed him out over the first two days, then started to desert him as he missed a couple of short putts to soon fall back.

Otaegui's strong finish, with birdies at the 17th and 18th, took him to 16 under for the tournament, six clear of Hidalgo, who shot 70, and Swede Joakim Lagergren.

"I had a very good start with a nice birdie on the second and then three birdies in a row at four, five and six and that gave me a bit of momentum," said Otaegui, the 29-year-old from San Sebastian who's seeking his fourth European Tour win.

"I felt good on the course, tried to enjoy it, tried to stay focused. I missed a couple of birdie putts at the beginning of the front nine but finished with three good birdies."

Lee is fourth, two clear of Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, who went round in 69.

Queensland's European Tour stalwart Maverick Antcliff, the only other Australian to make the cut, was in joint-38th, two-over for the tournament after a 74.