MacIntyre made five birdies in seven holes on the back nine of the DP World Tour event in Denmark.

Ross Fisher had to endure more demanding conditions in the morning marked by wind and rain and posted 66. He is alone in second.

The Englishman birdied the 14th and 15th holes, dropped a shot at the 97-yard 16th but made an eight-foot putt at the next.

Ryder Cup hopeful MacIntyre found his way to the top of the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 before extending his lead with another birdie at 17.

“It was really tough today. When I was sat in my room this morning, I was quite glad that I wasn't out there. It got a little bit nicer. Obviously, the breeze was really strong, but at least we didn't have any rain,” McIntyre told the European Tour website.

"It was just a mental battle out there and just had to stay positive. The dropped shots were going to happen and just had to take the chances when they came and thankfully I did that. Bit of luck here and there.

"I've been working hard on the my game the last three weeks, I've chopped and changed. There's been a lot of changes and I've kind of gone back to what I know I'm good at. I've stayed positive and I knew my game was there, just had to drive the ball a little bit better this week.”

A three-way tie for third at three-under included American Johannes Veerman – who carded a bogey-free round – German Nick Bachem, and Dutchman Daan Huizing, a top-10 finisher in Munich two weeks ago.

David Micheluzzi is the top Australian, carding two birdies, one bogey and a double-bogey on his way to a one-over 71, while West Australian Jason Scrivener is a shot further adrift.