CRANS SUR SIERRE, September 3, 2011 (AFP) - Joint overnight leader Jamie Donaldson will go into Sunday's final round at the European Masters with a one shot lead to put the Welshman in sight of his first ever win on the European Tour.
After 237 events Donaldson has still to break his EPGA duck and if he is to finally make the breakthrough he will have to do it the hard way, with world number one Lee Westwood one shot away in second and US Open champion Rory McIlroy another shot off the pace in third.
McIlroy could have gone into the clubhouse tied with Donaldson only for bogeys at two of his last three holes.
That left the Northern Irishman with a third round 67.
Donaldson is in control after a sparkling four birdies in the closing six holes for a 65 and a 14 under par total of 199.
"It will be awesome going up against two of the best players in the world at the moment," said the 35-year-old Donaldson who turned professional after taking second in the 2000 world amateur team championships.
His career was stopped in its tracks when he suffered a serious back injury which forced him to go back to the qualifying school five years ago.
Both Westwood and McIlroy had half an eye on events elsewhere.
For Westwood his focus was at Haydock Park racecourse where his horse Hoof It finished third in the Group One Sprint Cup.
For McIlroy it was over in New York where his girlfriend, world number one Caroline Wozniacki, was in action at the US Open.
Reflecting on his day's work McIlroy, one of four overnight leaders, said: "It was not the greatest way to finish."
McIlroy three-putted the 16th and then went over the green from a fairway bunker at the 17th - after taking an iron off the tee for safety.
He had flirted with the lead after jumping into a two stroke advantage with a 30-foot eagle putt from the edge of the seventh green.
"I'm still in there with a chance and I'll be looking for a fast start and putting a bit of pressure on the boys," added the Northern Irishman.
"I feel the way my game is there's a 61 or 62 out there."
Westwood, back from a break in Barbados, said a cold was affecting his balance.
"I played only six holes the last two weeks, which is not really the right preparation. But at some point in the year you have to take a break and recharge your batteries.
"It was nice not to have any fives on the card and no bogeys, especially on this course because it can trip you up."
One shot behind McIlroy are last week's winner Thomas Bjorn and England's Gary Boyd.
Leading and selected scores after the third round of the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland on Saturday (GBR/IRL unless stated, par 71):
199 - Jamie Donaldson 68 66 65
200 - Lee Westwood 67 69 64
201 - Rory McIlroy 65 69 67
202 - Gary Boyd 65 69 68, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 68 68 66
203 - Stephen Gallacher 70 66 67, Soren Hansen (DEN) 71 66 66, Keith Horne (RSA) 71 67 65, Danny Willett 71 64 68, Martin Kaymer (GER) 65 70 68, Damian Ulrich (SUI) 69 67 67
204 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 69 67 68, Alexander Noren (SWE) 69 67 68, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (ESP) 70 68 66
205 - Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 70 68 67, Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) 67 68 70, David Lynn 68 68 69, Peter Lawrie 70 66 69, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 69 68 68
206 - Francesco Molinari (ITA) 70 69 67, Michael Campbell (NZL) 67 71 68, Niklas Lemke (SWE) 71 66 69, Niclas Fasth (SWE) 68 70 68, Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 70 70 66
207 - Joost Luiten (NED) 70 68 69, Nick Dougherty 63 72 72, Matteo Manassero (ITA) 70 66 71, Marcel Siem (GER) 72 67 68, Darren Clarke 67 71 69, George Coetzee (RSA) 72 66 69, Anthony Wall 71 68 68, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 66 71 70, Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR) 69 66 72
Selected
208 - Mohd. Siddikur (BAN) 69 70 69, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 71 67 70
209 - Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 67 71 71
211 - Brett Rumford (AUS) 68 71 72, James Kingston (RSA) 69 71 71
212 - Hennie Otto (RSA) 70 68 74, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 70 70 72
213 - Shiv Kapur (IND) 70 67 76, Jbe Kruger (RSA) 68 69 76, Mark Brown (NZL) 69 71 73
215 - Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 70 70 75