An early burst of scoring saw Kurt Kitayama open up a two-shot lead in the early stages of the final round of the tri-sanctioned Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita.
The American came into day four locked at the top of the leaderboard alongside Justin Harding on 16 under par but he produced an eagle and two birdies in his first five holes on Sunday to take the outright lead.
After the overnight co-leaders had both safely parred the opening hole, Harding grabbed the solo lead courtesy of a confident uphill birdie putt from around six feet at the second.
But Kitayama, who is hunting his maiden European Tour title, joined him on 17 under with a birdie at the next, holing his tricky 25-foot putt, with Harding unable to convert his long birdie effort.
After sending his approach at the long fourth to 15 feet, Qualifying School graduate Kitayama rolled in his eagle putt to jump to 19 under.
Harding, who has won twice on both the Asian Tour and the Sunshine Tour in 2018, tapped in for a birdie at the same hole to stay within touching distance.
But Kitayama doubled his advantage after draining his ten-foot putt at the short fifth to get to 20 under par for the tournament.
Frenchman Matthieu Pavon was hot on their heels after producing four birdies in five holes from the second to get to 17 under.
