Lee Westwood was demonstrating his exhilarating range of iron shots as the World Number One turned one ahead at the BMW PGA Championship.
Two behind Luke Donald and Matteo Manassero overnight, another wild drive cost Donald an opening bogey and left 18 year old Manassero as leader on his own when the final round began at Wentworth Club.
In more windy conditions Donald carved his shot into the trees just like he had on a number of occasions in his Saturday 72.
He was lucky to be able to hack the ball back on to the fairway, but could not salvage his par and the Italian teenager's solid four gave him first blood in their title battle.
Donald, normally so deadly around the greens, then fluffed a chip at the short second and with a second successive bogey dropped two behind and into a share of second place with compatriot Simon Dyson, who birdied the long fourth.
Lee Westwood, trying to keep Donald at bay at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, was one shot further back after bogeying the third.
Manassero opened up the title race when he double-bogeyed the third, finding sand with his approach from the left-hand rough and then only just getting out.
With Westwood two-putting the fourth for birdie he was suddenly part of a four-way tie with Donald, Dyson and Manassero.
Donald chipped dead on the fourth for birdie and, when Westwood hit his approach to four feet at the sixth and holed it, the world's top two players were sharing the lead at four under.
Westwood, winner of his last two strokeplay tournaments, had his third birdie in five holes on the 391 yard eighth and nosed in front of Donald, who had to beat his Ryder Cup teammate to grab the World Number One spot.
Up into a tie for fifth, but four behind, came Colin Montgomerie with birdies at the 16th and 17th, after nearly three years without a top-ten finish.
