Otaegui, 22, holds a two-shot advantage at the Pretoria Country Club on 11 under par ahead of South African Merrick Bremner, whose 66 took him to a tournament total of 131.
Otaegui, ranked number 403 in the world, carded nine birdies and at one stage looked as though he could finish with the first ever sub-60 round on the European Tour.
He arrived at the 17th hole needing two more birdies to achieve that feat, but only managed a par and then bogeyed his final hole for an eight-under-par 62.
“I was focussed and didn’t know that I had made five birdies in a row,” he told reporters of his run from the eighth to the 12th hole.
“I was playing well and made a few putts, that’s all I was thinking about. The best golf is when you think as little as possible, and this was one of those days.
“If you play well from tee to green then you can score well. I like these type of courses that are old style and have trees so that you have to place the ball.”
Three shots back at eight under par for the tournament are England’s David Horsey (69), South Africans Keith Horne (67) and Trevor Fisher Jnr (66), and the Italian Edoardo Molinari (66).
(Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Toby Davis)
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