Welshman Bradley Dredge, without a European tour win to his name, is the surprise leader with a round to play in the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama in Spain.
On a day when strong winds sent scores soaring - Order of Merit leader Retief Goosen had a 78 and Sergio Garcia took nine on one hole - Dredge had a level par 71.
At three under he leads by one from Colin Montgomerie (72) and Angel Cabrera, who after leading by four at halfway managed only a 76.
Montgomerie, 11 behind after nine holes of his second round, needed only 14 more to be joint leader, but when he fell behind again by three-putting the 16th he tossed his ball in the direction of a marshall.
Asked what the official had done to annoy him the Scot, never afraid to show his emotions on the course, simply replied: "Too much."
Darren Clarke had only the second hole-in-one of his tour career with a five-iron on the 225-yard 15th, but double bogeys at the 17th and 18th - it was that kind of day - dropped the Tyroneman seven behind.
As for the Order of Merit title battle, Padraig Harrington beat Goosen by four shots on the day, but still has it all to do to deny the South African the crown for the second successive season.
Harrington is now 11 over par and Goosen 12 over, but they are 43rd and 47th respectively - and Harrington may well have to climb at least 20 places to achieve his goal.
In his first four seasons on the circuit Dredge's best finishing position on the money list was 72nd and his total earnings amounted to £284,688. Tomorrow's first prize is £333,330.
Not that his form has come totally out of the blue. The 29-year-old former Walker Cup amateur, runner-up in the 1992 British amateur championship, has already earned over £480,000 thanks to nine top 10 finishes - two more than Montgomerie.
He has never been in the final group on the final day, however, and since he will be playing with seven-time European number one Montgomerie he said: "I will just put the blinkers on and do my own thing.
"Easy to say and more difficult to do, of course, but I am looking forward to it. I've been in contention a few times now and the more you do it the more comfortable you get."