However, he let that slip with a bogey four at the fifth to go back to eight under and one behind Bjorn, the third member of their group.

The Dane had birdied the first two holes to move up from six under and, after a bogey at the third, he reproduced back-to-back birdies to go to nine under and trail Dougherty by one.

However, he had a double-bogey six at the par-four sixth to drop to seven under while Dougherty also dropped a shot on the same hole to allow Montgomerie to tie the lead with a birdie two.

But the Scot immediately relinquished this by dropping a shot at the next, the 616-yard par-five, and Dougherty moved two ahead again with a birdie two at the eighth after hitting his tee shot to 18 inches.

That birdie was matched by Bjorn with a putt from 15 feet to take him back to eight under and in a tie with Montgomerie.

The 2004 Ryder Cup winner then birdied the ninth after hitting his approach to 10 feet and although Dougherty’s second shot finished inside his playing partner’s he could not convert it and his lead was back to one.

England’s Robert Coles was also in the hunt at eight under after five birdies in his first seven holes as he covered the front nine in 31.

Off the course Scotland’s Andrew Coltart was recovering in hospital after having his appendix removed in an emergency operation.

The former Ryder Cup player, 34, was doubled up in pain after carding a second successive six-over-par 78 to miss the cut on Friday.

He returned to his hotel but as the pain increased he went to hospital, where he will remain for a few days.

Coltart will now miss next week’s Heineken Classic in Melbourne.