England's David Howell was the man to catch as the Joburg Open headed for an exciting climax at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
The former Ryder Cup star began the final round two shots behind overnight leader Wallie Coetsee, but moved to the top of a crowded leaderboard with four birdies, including a 20 foot effort on the sixth, in a flawless front nine of 32.
That took the five-time European Tour winner to 16 under par and one shot ahead of Andy Sullivan, Anthony Wall and Kevin Phelan, with Coetsee part of a four-strong group on 14 under and a total of 16 players within four of the lead.
Sullivan, who won the South African Open Championship at nearby Glendower at the start of January, had briefly held a two shot lead when he also went to the turn in 32, only to bogey the 11th after finding water with his approach.
Phelan had also held the outright lead following his seventh birdie of the day on the 12th, but the 24 year old Irishman then bogeyed the 14th after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.
Wall made the ideal start with an eagle from 25 feet on the par five first and birdie on the fourth and bounced back from a bogey on the sixth, where he found water with his second, with further birdies on the eighth and 13th.
Wall holed from five feet for birdie on the 14th to move into a share of the lead, only to promptly dump his approach to the next into a water hazard short of the green.
The resulting bogey dropped him back to 15 under and joint second with Sullivan and Phelan, who had set the clubhouse target after an excellent closing 66.
That target was soon matched by South African Jaco van Zyl, who birdied the last to also complete a flawless round of 66.
Howell scrambled a par on the 13th after a wayward drive and finding a greenside bunker with his approach, but was unable to repeat the trick on the next after hooking his drive into the water.
The World Number 158 then missed from eight feet for birdie on the 15th to remain one behind Sullivan, while Wall had joined the clubhouse leaders on 15 under after being unable to birdie the 18th.
