A déjà vu but not an exact copy. Thriston Lawrence (-15), or Lawrence from South Africa, made himself known two years ago in this tournament, the Joburg Open, although not on the same course; then he won his first title of the newly named DP World Tour at the Randpark GC in Johannesburg and now he is about to culminate his fifth tour victory at the Houghton GC in the South African city. On that occasion he won in 36 holes due to a variant of Covid and, instead, tomorrow he will conclude the tournament with its corresponding 72 flags.
Lawrence is good at competing in his country, where in addition to the Joburg he won 11 and a half months ago at the Investec South African Open. And he wants to maintain the idyll this Sunday after a moving day in which he took more advantage of his closest pursuers, considering that he started in second place after the explosion on Friday of the young Nikhil Rama (-11). To this one, delighted to play with pressure, as he said, the first two rounds, he was a bit nervous to see himself in the stellar match with the big favourite at his side. In fact, he was the only one of the top 34 who finished over par…
Rama, who had two bogeys between Thursday and Friday, scored a double bogey on the 1st and another mistake on the 4th; when it smelled like a debacle, he recovered with pars, cheered up with three good birdies between the 11th and the 14th, although then he twisted the round again with stumbles at the 15th and the 18th. He is third, four strokes from the race leader and anything can happen in 24 hours.
Our leader, saving par in style.@ThristonL 👏#JoburgOpen pic.twitter.com/PqFKmH9OAi
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 25, 2023
Lawrence got into few problems and, when he had them, he solved them masterfully, especially in a chip to save par from outside the green on the 8th or with another similar one for eagle that hit the flagpole and left the birdie given. South African hands. Only on the 6th did he stain his round with a mistake on the 6th, but in return he hit two birdies in the first nine holes and two more in the second to regain the lead, now with two strokes ahead of Dean Burmester (-12).
The 34-year-old golfer residing in Bloemfontein is ready to spoil Lawrence’s party. He holed four birdies and his mistakes were penalised with two bogeys. He needs to pressure his compatriot from the start tomorrow to make him doubt. Right behind him, along with Rama, is Jacques Kruyswijk (-11), who can give you a sand or a lime. Two setbacks at the start were more than compensated with four successes between the 4th and the 9th. On the attack. Even more so after another birdie on the 13th. But when he was second alone he made two small stumbles at the 14th and the 18th to let Lawrence escape by four. Zander Lombard (-10), fourth and second two years ago, and the veteran Darren Fichardt (-9), of course South Africans, are also on the prowl.
Manu Elvira (-5) lived another déjà vu with a round very similar to Thursday’s. Fine with the driver, fine with the irons and out of tune with the putter. That is the summary of the day for the 27-year-old Cantabrian, who forgave a large handful of birdie opportunities, just like in the initial round, and who, like the first day, sent the ball into the water with the second shot on the 15th, where he signed his second Saturday bogey after stumbling on the 1st. Two birdies (7 and 10) brightened his day as the best representative of the Armada in the Joburg, where tomorrow he will seek to copy Friday’s round, when he made six less, to try to sneak into the top ten (today he is twenty-second) in his first tournament with all rights on the DP World Tour.
Adri Arnaus (-3) also tied with the Houghton GC and is thirty-fifth. The birdie on the 6th was followed by a painful double bogey on the 8th and after the success on the 10th he failed on the 12th, although on the 15th he got the birdie to equal the Johannesburg course. Lucas Vacarisas (3) did play over par by scoring only two birdies (5 and 10) and signing five cruel bogeys that place him in 68th place.
