George Coetzee led by a single shot as he reached the turn on day four of the Portugal Masters after putting on a short game masterclass on the front nine.
South African Coetzee began the day with a one stroke advantage but was knocked off the top of the leaderboard after opening his final round with six straight pars to remain on 11 under par.
That does not tell the whole story, though, as Coetzee produced a remarkable up-and-down from the thick rough by the sixth green to save par and stay in contention as those around him moved up an incredibly bunched leaderboard.
The four time European Tour champion made his first birdie of the day from 20 feet on the difficult seventh before picking up another shot from a similar distance on the short eighth to get to 13 under.
Coetzee, who is chasing back to back titles after winning the Titleist Championship at Pretoria Country Club on the Sunshine Tour last week, chipped out of the rough and saved par again on the ninth to head to the back nine one shot clear of Englishman Laurie Canter, who made birdies at the second, third and fifth to jump into contention.
Masahiro Kawamura was another stroke back in third, one ahead of the large group on 10 under that contained World Number 16 Tommy Fleetwood, who had four holes left to play.
