Gregory Bourdy saw his overnight four shot advantage halved by Rafa Cabrera-Bello during the third round of the Lyoness Open Powered by Greenfinity at Diamond Country Club.
Bourdy appeared to be in a strong position to claim his fifth European Tour title when, having resumed his round following a 95-minute delay due to the threat of lightning, he regained his four shot lead on the back nine after Cabrera-Bello's early onslaught moved him to within two.
The Frenchman's only blemish on the 15th - his first since the opening hole on Friday - and three gains in four holes from Cabrera-Bello left him just one clear, but Bourdy managed to double that cushion with a fourth birdie on the 16th.
That gave the impressive Bourdy, whose last victory came in Wales two years ago, a 69 to move him to 15 under.
He showed no signs of buckling under pressure as he showed his class to save par on two occasions, producing a brilliant up-and-down on the 11th after failing to reach the green in regulation for the first time on Saturday, before sinking a 15 foot putt on the penultimate hole.
Bourdy said: “It was another good round because it was difficult today, especially with the suspension of play so three under was a good score.
“After the delay the wind was a bit stronger which made it a bit more difficult but I think I did quite well at the end.
“I am in a good position – it’s always nice to be two ahead going into the final round, but it will be a tough day and I am sure it will be an exciting day playing with Rafa who is a great guy.
“I’ll relax tonight and have a nice dinner and get ready for tomorrow.” Grégory Bourdy
The leader was put under the pump early by Cabrera-Bello, who reached the turn in 31 courtesy of three birdies and an eagle in his first seven holes, before the lengthy stoppage.
That delay halted the Spaniard's momentum as he suffered bogies on the 11th and 14th, although collecting shots at 13, 15, when he recovered from out of the rough with a smart chip over the bunker, and 16 completed a six under par 66.
Cabrera-Bello, a champion in this event six years ago, said: “It was a really good day for me – I got off to an amazing start with a birdie at the first and then holing out for eagle at the third. Also making two birdies on the par fives – the 15th and 16th on the back nine – was really important for my confidence and to close the gap on Greg going into tomorrow."
On his eagle at the par-four third, the 31 year old said: “The eagle early in the round was a nice surprise and very funny because last night I had dinner with some of the Spanish guys and we were talking about how Miguel always holes out from the fairway and makes all these holes in one.
“I was saying how I never hole out from the middle of the fairway and then today I finally make one. There you go.”
Another player to suffer from the weather break was Chris Wood.
The Englishman, having started his round with three consecutive gains, was forced to take a penalty drop on the ninth when he fired his tee shot right into the trees and, after returning to finish the hole, could only register a double bogey.
Wood, who won a BMW i8 for a hole-in-one en route to a fourth-place finish at the recent BMW PGA Championship, responded by birdieing the next and last during a round of 70 that left him five shots off the pace.
The one-time European Tour winner said: “The putt at the last was important and massively deserved because I just couldn’t seem to get the ball to drop having hit so many good putts.
“It was quite a frustrating day because of that – I hit a lot of good putts but they just kept lipping out.”
Scott Jamieson surged into contention after shooting a seven under par 65, the best round of the day.
After bogeying the first, the Scot responded with eight birdies to sit on nine under alongside Matthew Fitzpatrick, the young Englishman having carded his third consecutive 69.
American John Hahn and Finland's Mikko Korhonen were a shot further back, one clear of Gary Stal after the Frenchman had four bogies in a one over 73.
Englishman Simon Griffiths matched Cabrera-Bello's round of 66, becoming one of five players on six under.
