Garcia played some sparkling shots in the third round

The enigmatic 26-year-old holed his second shot with a nine-iron for an eagle at the 436-yard second.

He turned in 29 after three straight birdies, all of which were from eight feet or less and after eight pars just missed for an eagle at the last.

"I hit the ball really nicely and I really had it going," he told BBC Sport. "I felt very comfortable."

Highlights: The Open third round

Interview: Sergio Garcia

Garcia, a top-10 finisher in four of the last five Opens, admitted his early eagle was an excellent springboard for his fine round.

"Twenty-nine in a major is something I had never done and didn't know if I could do. Holing out on two really got me going," he said

"I cut a nice, solid nine-iron and as soon as it came out it looked good. I just hoped I had the distance right and it would hop on to the hole.

"Even though I then made a lot of pars I was very pleased with the way I played all day long. The greens have become very crispy and brown and are tough to get the right speed on."

He will go out in the final pairing on Sunday with Tiger Woods.

Finland's Mikko Ilonen was Garcia's closest European challenger as he moved into the top ten on the leaderboard around the turn.

The 26-year-old reached nine under par after his front nine but three bogies on the back nine contributed to his score of 73 leaving him tied for 16th

Miguel Angel Jimenez saw his Open challenge fall away after he carded a 76.

The veteran from Malaga made a solid start but his third round began to unravel after a double bogey on the seventh.

A birdie on nine kept him on six under but bogeys on 13, 17 and 18 pinned him back to finish on three under overall.

Compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal never really looked like building on his 68 on Friday as he slipped to one over par.

His third round score of 76 included four birdies but was tarnished by five bogeys and a triple bogey on the 11th.