Norris, who has eight wins in Japan and another two on the Asian Tour, called his even-par round "a little scrappy" as his four birdies were offset by as many bogeys.

"I didn't hit the ball as nicely as I would have liked to, and I didn't make any putts at all either. That's okay, tomorrow's another day, and hopefully it all falls," said Norris, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour.

"The course is good, strong. It's quite tricky with the windy conditions swirling all over the place and things like that, but it's the same for everybody out there at the end of the day."

China Tour regular Peng, the runner-up at the Guangdong Open last month, stayed close with an eagle three at the par-five last.

"The previous two days I had played it (the 18th hole) as a lay-up. But I thought to myself since I don't have the pressure of making the cut today, I pulled out the driver. After the tee shot, I had about 270 yards left to the pin. I hit a mini driver, which went a little more to the right than I expected, but the result was great. It ended up three feet from the hole and I made the eagle putt," said the 25-year-old from Nanjing who is in the hunt for his first pro win.

"I've played pretty well over these three days. I hope my putter can heat up a bit. If that happens, I should have a good result tomorrow."

Volvo China Open third round leading scores

Players are from the Chinese mainland unless indicated

197 – Adrian Otaegui (UAE) 66-69-62

198 – Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 64-66-68

201 – Shaun Norris (RSA) 63-67-71

202 – Alejandro Del Rey (ESP) 61-71-70

203 – Antoine Rozner (FRA) 70-68-65, Mikael Lindberg (SWE) 68-70-65

204 – Guido Migliozzi (ITA) 72-66-66

205 – Peng Bo 71-66-68, Nathan Kimsey (ENG) 69-69-67, Davis Bryant (USA) 67-72-66, Darius Van Driel (NED) 68-65-72, Jin Zihao 68-66-71, Angel Ayora (ESP) 67-68-70

206 – Wu Ashun 69-67-70, Angel Hidalgo (ESP) 69-69-68, Marcus Kinhult (SWE) 72-67-67, Alexander Levy (FRA)70-69-67, Chen Kuangyu (AUS) 66-67-73, Tom Vaillant (FRA) 68-65-73, Daniel Rodrigues (POR) 67-67-72, Gregorio De Leo (ITA) 68-67-71