Scott Jamieson fired a brilliant bogey-free 67 to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player.
The Scotsman made five birdies in round three of the penultimate event on the Race to Dubai, to move to eight under par and lead the way from Victor Dubuisson at Gary Player Country Club.
Jamieson’s only previous European Tour win came in South Africa at the 2013 Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS HANDA and he will be going in search of Rolex Series glory in Sun City on Sunday.
He can expect a strong challenge from Frenchman Dubuisson, who has a stunning record at this time of year with two wins at the Turkish Airlines Open, two top fives here and three top fives at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, since 2013.
Home favourite Branden Grace finished at five under par alongside two-time Major champion, and 2012 Nedbank Golf Challenge winner, Martin Kaymer of Germany.
Italian Francesco Molinari signed for a 65 and the lowest round of the week to move to three under par alongside South African Haydn Porteous.
Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex leader Tommy Fleetwood fired a round of 67 and is amongst a group of seven players one shot further back, as he looks to increase his lead over fellow Englishman Justin Rose heading into next week’s season finale in Dubai. Fleetwood would be crowned Europe’s Number One with a victory in Sun City.
Player quotes
Scott Jamieson: “I was much better on the greens today than I had been the first couple days, so that was nice. I’m in a good position. Tomorrow will be a new challenge. There’s still an awful long way to go but if I can do what I did today, I’ll be in with a good shout.
“It was much the same tee-to-green as the other two days, the putter was just a little hotter today. I got rid of those three putts I had earlier on in the round yesterday.
“It would be the biggest moment of my career. I’ll be well aware of that tomorrow. I’ve got to see if I can step up to the challenge.”
Victor Dubuisson: “I played as good as the first two rounds but my putting was maybe not as good. I missed some good opportunities, but the problem is I felt like all day I had tricky, downhill putts, and I couldn’t really go for it because I never wanted to give myself three and a half or four foot second putts. So I kind of putted very easy. That’s why I didn’t make as many birdies as the day before.
“It’s one of my favourite tournaments. I always play well here. Of course I think about winning, but it’s a long road tomorrow. With 18 holes to go, everything can happen here. So I hope I will just focus on doing my best and not make mistakes.”
Martin Kaymer: “I made a great chip-in on eight. That helped a lot to get the round going. So I think it’s more that I had very little mistakes. I actually worked a little bit on the short game with Gary Player. He’s always very supportive of my game and always tries to help me. I’m very excited to tell him tomorrow that I actually had a chip-in. It was a tough one, so I think he will be very pleased.
“When I won here, I wasn’t in the lead after three rounds, fairly similar to this year. I’ve got great support here. I’ve had good success in the past and I look forward to that excitement. Hopefully I can get it going early tomorrow and I have a chance.”
Branden Grace: “I hit it great again today. From the back nine yesterday leading into today I was quite on song. A couple of bad shots, but those things happen. It’s still tough out there. The wind is not a big factor today but it’s swirling a little bit, so it’s really hard to commit and trust yourself and what you’re doing. Hopefully I can get a couple of good birdies tomorrow and be in with a shot.
“This is one of those events you grow up watching as a South African and this is probably the event as a South African you want to win. It’s “Africa’s Major” for a reason, and it’s one of those you’re going to have to play well to win, and hopefully I can do that tomorrow.”
Round three scores
208 S Jamieson (Sco) 68 73 67,
209 V Dubuisson (Fra) 68 70 71,
211 B Grace (RSA) 68 75 68, M Kaymer (Ger) 73 69 69,
213 H Porteous (RSA) 73 73 67, F Molinari (Ita) 73 75 65,
214 C Schwartzel (RSA) 69 73 72, L Westwood (Eng) 70 70 74, L Oosthuizen (RSA) 71 73 70, R Fisher (Eng) 70 71 73, T Fleetwood (Eng) 73 74 67, M Pavon (Fra) 72 74 68, D Drysdale (Sco) 72 73 69,
215 S Lowry (Irl) 72 71 72, G Storm (Eng) 69 75 71, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 70 77 68, R Sterne (RSA) 74 72 69, H Tanihara (Jpn) 69 76 70, R Ramsay (Sco) 73 70 72, J Luiten (Ned) 71 72 72, D Fichardt (RSA) 71 69 75,
216 P Waring (Eng) 70 73 73, I Poulter (Eng) 74 72 70, A Noren (Swe) 69 72 75, J Campillo (Esp) 71 77 68,
217 E Pepperell (Eng) 74 74 69, L Haotong (Chn) 70 77 70, A Björk (Swe) 71 73 73, B Hebert (Fra) 74 69 74, G Bourdy (Fra) 75 70 72, T Hatton (Eng) 71 70 76, D Horsey (Eng) 73 71 73, P Harrington (Irl) 74 72 71,
218 B Wiesberger (Aut) 67 77 74, J Suri (USA) 68 75 75, L Slattery (Eng) 70 74 74, N Elvira (Esp) 70 75 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 71 78 69, S Brazel (Aus) 74 72 72,
219 T Olesen (Den) 71 75 73, A Levy (Fra) 72 77 70, F Zanotti (Par) 70 77 72, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 74 75, D Frittelli (RSA) 75 75 69, C Shinkwin (Eng) 70 75 74,
220 L Bjerregaard (Den) 70 78 72, D Burmester (RSA) 77 72 71, G Coetzee (RSA) 77 71 72,
221 K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 75 72, M Wallace (Eng) 75 75 71, S Hend (Aus) 80 73 68,
222 M Warren (Sco) 71 76 75, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 72 78 72, R Fox (Nzl) 71 74 77, C Wood (Eng) 72 75 75,
223 A Otaegui (Esp) 74 76 73, S Gallacher (Sco) 74 75 74, P Dunne (Irl) 74 76 73,
224 E Molinari (Ita) 76 75 73, P Larrazábal (Esp) 76 74 74,
225 N Colsaerts (Bel) 76 75 74,
226 J Wang (Kor) 73 79 74, A Romero (Arg) 74 77 75,
227 D Lipsky (USA) 74 76 77, R Wattel (Fra) 76 76 75,
228 R Paratore (Ita) 72 79 77,
229 T Bjørn (Den) 79 73 77, A Dodt (Aus) 78 77 74,
230 B Stone (RSA) 76 79 75, A Sullivan (Eng) 79 72 79,
** J Smith (Eng) 76 80 WD,
** P Uihlein (USA) 70 WD 0,
