Branden Grace was holding off the chasing pack during the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club.
The South African, who won all four of his previous European Tour titles during a glorious 2012 campaign, had looked imperious in reaching 16 under par at the halfway stage with rounds of 62 and 66.
That had given the 26 year old a five shot lead over Francesco Molinari, but the Italian briefly reduced the arrears to three when he birdied the first after a fine approach to three feet and Grace bogeyed the long next.
However, the South African swiftly birdied the third from 25 and picked up another shot at the next.
A Molinari birdie at the sixth reduced the gap to three once more as Grace bogeyed the same hole, but the South African holed from 15 feet at the next as his playing partner dropped a shot.
Italian Molinari hit another excellent iron to two feet at the tenth and birdied, but although Grace’s approach to the 11th spun back off the green and led to a bogey, a birdie from tap-in range at the 14th following a superb pitch kept him four ahead on 17 under par.
Molinari had been joined on 13 under by England’s Danny Willett and Dane Lucas Bjerregaard.
Last week’s Nedbank Challenge winner Willett almost had a hole-in-one at the seventh, where he recorded one of three birdies on the way out, but suffered the setback of a double bogey at the ninth.
However, birdies at the 11th, 13th and 15th left him with a chance for consecutive wins.
Bjerregaard was only level par for the day at the turn, but after birdieing the tenth holed an eight foot eagle putt at the 13th and birdied the 16th from ten feet.
