Three players were tied for the lead coming down the closing stretch at the Austrian GolfOpen presented by Botarin.
Englishmen Danny Willett and David Lynn – the joint overnight leaders – were joined by Spain’s José Manuel Lara on 15 under par with seven holes remaining.
The 22 year old Willett, seeking his first European Tour title, holed a 20 foot putt at the first and picked up another shot at the par five tenth with a five footer.
Spaniard Lara – a former UBS Hong Kong Open winner but needing some good performances to keep his card for next year – had four birdies in a row from the second.
At 130th on The Race to Dubai the 33 year old needs to move into the top 115 to retain playing privileges and a top five finish at Diamond Country Club would allow him to do just that.
But Lara looked to have victory on his mind as he hit his approach to three feet at the third, hit a wedge to within a foot at the fourth, birdied the fifth then sunk a five footer at the sixth to be four under through six holes.
Lara then converted from five feet at the tenth and two holes later his pitch stopped inches from the hole for birdie number six.
Lynn bogeyed the first but recovered to turn in 35 then played the par three 11th beautifully to register the birdie that took him to 15 under.
Ireland’s Damien McGrane, US Open Championship winner Graeme McDowell and another Englishman – Chris Gane – were two shots back on 13 under but rapidly running out of holes to make a challenge.
