Cologne, Germany (My Sportsbook) - Sweden's Peter Hanson shot a five-under 67 to take the third-round lead Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Hanson finished three trips around the Gut Larchenhof course at 11-under 205 for a one-stroke advantage over England's Simon Dyson (68), Denmark's Soren Hansen (70) and South Africa's James Kingston (70).

World No. 6 Henrik Stenson (69) of Sweden and Englishman Anthony Wall (68) stood another shot further back at nine-under 207.

Sixteen players -- or about 20 percent of the 78-man field -- will enter the final round within five shots of Hanson's lead, setting up an exciting finish in Cologne.

Second round co-leaders Chris Wood and Scott Strange kept themselves in the mix despite struggling on Saturday. Wood (73) slipped into a tie for seventh place at eight-under 208, while Strange (74) tumbled into a share of 11th at seven-under 209.

Hanson, chasing his third European Tour victory, emerged on top of the tight leaderboard with a spotless round that featured five birdies -- including four on the front nine.

The 31-year-old Swede, vowing to get back into contention following a string of missed cuts and middling finishes, told himself Saturday that a 66 or 67 would do it.

Hanson's hot start included an opening birdie at the first hole. He added birdies at the fourth, seventh and ninth holes to make the turn in 32 shots.

He only picked up one birdie on the back nine, but it was an important one. The birdie on No. 14 gave him a two-stroke cushion heading down the stretch.

"I'm disappointed I didn't make one on 13, so (it was) good to get one back on 14," said Hanson, who lamented other missed opportunities on the back nine, including a birdie putt at the 18th that didn't fall.

"I didn't take a chance on 15 and had great chance from five feet on the last and didn't take it," he said.

Nevertheless, he will enter Sunday's final round in good position for his first win since the 2008 SAS Masters.

"It's going to be very tight tomorrow," said Hanson. "The leaderboard is very packed and it's going to take a very good round to win tomorrow."