After three closing birdies in his second round, Luke Donald began with two more in his third - and was edging closer to his money list dream double.
Needing a top-nine finish to make sure of adding The Race to Dubai title to his US PGA Tour crown, the World Number One was up into a tie for fifth - and only a stroke behind Rory McIlroy.
Northern Ireland's US Open Champion has to win just to have a chance of denying Donald and he resumed in joint third place with a par four.
Donald had bogeyed the first hole on the opening two days after straying right close to the bushes. This time he went a little left, but from the rough hit his approach to 14 feet and made the putt.
He was pin high in two on the long second and, although he had to go up and over a mound and had to putt through the fringe grass for the first 20 feet, he got the ball to within two feet of the flag.
Spain's Alvaro Quiros was the man leading overnight - and leading by four after his course record-equalling 64 - but he was in trouble straightaway, driving into the bushes and taking a penalty drop.
Only last week at the UBS Hong Kong Open he was out in front with a round to go, but shot 73 and fell to seventh while McIlroy fired a 65 and won to bring The Race to Dubai to the boil.
The 22 year old, battling with a virus he has now been told could be a mild case of Dengue fever, had finished his second round with back-to-back bogeys and, with Quiros eagling the 18th, had suddenly found himself five adrift.
Quiros did well to get out of the first with only a bogey. His third shot found a bunker and he left his recovery eight feet short, but made it.
His lead over Swede Peter Hanson was down to three as a result, while Donald had his third birdie when he made a curling eight footer on the 407 yard fifth.
With that he joined McIlroy in third place, the Northern Irishman failing to birdie the 583 yard second after going left with his second shot and chipping 12 feet past.
Quiros made a 15 footer to match Hanson's birdie on the second, but his advantage was cut to two when he three-putted the short fourth.
Donald's fourth birdie came on the eighth and he now had a two shot lead over McIlroy, who could not recover from finding sand off the tee at the 452 yard third.
Hanson was joined in second place when Ireland's Shane Lowry covered the first eight in four under, while Donald had not only Robert Rock for company on eight under, but also German Martin Kaymer, who holed out from a bunker for eagle on the last and so became the third player this week to match the course record of 64.
