Being one point ahead, was the winner (3)
I believe the answer is:
won
'being one' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'point ahead was the winner' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'point' could be 'w' (West) and 'w' is present in the answer.
'ahead' could be 'on' (synonyms) and 'on' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for won that I've seen before include "and 26: Chinese dumpling" , "Korean currency, was victorious" , "prevailed" , "Came first" , "Succeeded, conquered" .)