Charl Schwartzel will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship after a grinding round of 70 on Saturday.
The home favourite is a three-time winner at Leopard Creek Country Club and when he opened up a five-shot lead at the halfway stage, things were looking ominous for the rest of the field.
But Schwartzel had to battle his way round in Malelane to get to 13 under as European Tour rookie Sébastien Gros fired a low round of the week 63 to sit three shots behind alongside Benjamin Hebert.
It was just a seventh round on The European Tour for Gros, who finished second on The Challenge Tour last season, and on Sunday he will be looking to emulate Alvaro Quiros who won his first event as a full Member here in the 2007 season.
South African Dylan Frittelli was then alone in fourth at eight under with Grégory Bourdy, David Drysdale, Lasse Jensen and Joost Luiten all a further shot back.
Should Schwartzel triumph on Sunday, he would become the first South African to win the same official European Tour event four times and he was glad to still be in the lead after admitting to not being at his best.
"I felt really uncomfortable to be honest, I struggled," he said.
"As good as the long game was the first few days, it was as bad today and it made me feel very uncomfortable.
"On the positive side of it, I've shot a lot worse scores playing like this and that means there is an improvement in my game.
If I can have some bad rounds still under par, out of my experience, that's how you compete in tournaments and even win tournaments - Charl Schwartzel
"It can't be far away. It has to be feelings, I'm just feeling very, very uncomfortable so if I can go and find something that can trigger me I think I'll sleep a little better.
"I just would like to play some decent golf. If someone shoots a low score and beats me then so be it. I just want to play some decent golf myself, I've been longing for it for a while."
Gros set the clubhouse target at ten under before the final group had teed off courtesy of birdies on the third, fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth, 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th and he was soon into a share of the lead as Schwartzel dropped a shot on the first.
The 31 year old was struggling to find his range and needed to make a nervy six-footer on the third to save his par.
As the overnight leader slipped back, the chasing pack closed in with Luiten making birdies on the second, sixth and seventh to get within one of the summit.
Hebert also had two birdies on the fourth and seventh, the latter just a couple of rolls from being a hole-in-one.
Schwartzel had made birdie on the sixth in the first two rounds and he continued that trend to get back into the lead on his own after a wedge onto the green and a ten-foot putt.
He then put his tee shot on the par three seventh on the left edge of the green and rolled in a 20-foot putt to open up a two-shot lead.
Hebert and Luiten both dropped two shots around the turn to relieve the pressure on the leader who made nine consecutive pars but Schwartzel was having to battle for every one of them.
An impressive bunker shot saw him get up and down on the 12th while he managed to save par on the next after almost putting his tee shot in the water down the left.
Hebert, who has made nine consecutive cuts, birdied both the 12th and 13th to move back to eight under and when he made a long putt on the 16th for birdie, he was within three shots of the lead.
Luiten made a birdie on the 14th but gave the shot straight back on the next before a brilliant putt from Schwartzel brought his round back to life.
The 2011 Masters Tournament winner had already made some good putts for par and rolled a 25-foot left-to-righter over the hump and in on the 17th for birdie.
Hebert then made a birdie on the last to move into a share of second and Schwartzel had a good chance to do the same but missed on the high side from four feet.
Frittelli's best European Tour finish was a tie for tenth at last season's Tshwane Open but he put himself in a good position to improve on that with a 66.
The 25 year old made birdies on the second, fourth, ninth, 11th, 13th and 14th and, while he dropped a stroke on the 17th, he regained it at the last.
Bourdy finished with four consecutive birdies in his 67 while Jensen, who recently went back to Qualifying School to get his card, had a single bogey as he signed for the same score.
Drysdale had an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys in his round to sit a shot clear of defending champion Branden Grace who fired a 66 to get his campaign back on track.
The six-time European Tour winner came into the week in good form after a third-place finish at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and The Race to Dubai but struggled to find his best form over the first two days as he went 71-73.
He was in the second group out on Saturday and birdied the second but gave the shot straight back before gains on the sixth and eighth saw him turn in 33. A hat-trick of birdies from the 13th then catapulted him up the leaderboard and a closing birdie got him into the top ten.
Frenchman Thomas Linard, who finished ninth on The Challenge Tour in 2015, was also at six under after a 67 with Matt Ford in that group after a 69.
There was then a group of eight players at five under, including Niclas Fasth playing in his 500th European Tour event.
