Larrazabal keeps ahead of revived Monty

(CNN) -- Little-known Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal defied the odds to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the French Open.

Qualifier Larrazabal produced a fine four-under-par 67 to leave Colin Montgomerie and Soren Hansen of Denmark as his nearest challengers.

Lee Westwood, fresh from his near-miss at the U.S. Open, is a stroke further back in the company of fellow Englishman David Lynn, who had shared the halfway lead with Larrazabal.

The 25-year-old from Barcelona, playing just his 17th European Tour event, is relishing the challenge of holding off European golf's elite.

"I saw the names Monty and Westwood - I love to shoot lower than those," he told the Press Association.

"I'm not the star of the tournament. I came from the pre-qualifying. There are 156 players and I am maybe the 150th best, but that's not a problem for me."

Montgomerie, desperate for a win to revive his Ryder Cup hopes, looked set to take closer order but late dropped shots saw him finish with a 68.

The 45-year-old Scot warned Larrazabal that the final round will be a tough challenge.

"You tend to want to go for things and this course is very demanding on you mentally."

Westwood said of Larrazabal: "He's done well and looks a good player. It's never easy when you have the lead overnight, so well done to him.

"Now he has another night thinking about it."

The players are chasing a first prize of over $1 million at the tournament on the testing par-71 Golf National course near Paris.