Zander Lombard moved one step closer to a maiden European Tour title as the talented 21 year old carded a four under par third round 68 to take a one-shot lead into the final day of the Lyoness Open powered by Sporthilfe Cashback Card.
The Pretorian is aiming to make it seven South Africa victories on the European Tour this year, although it looked like his title challenge might steer off course when the three-stroke advantage he built with four birdies in the opening seven holes disappeared in one fell swoop after a triple bogey at the ninth.
Lombard showed composure beyond his years, however, as he picked up three shots on the way home to move to an 11 under total, one shot clear of China’s Wu Ashun, who signed for a flawless seven under 65.
Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and Grégory Bourdy of France were both a shot further back on nine under par while Joost Luiten – who requires at least a third place finish at Diamond Country Club to stand a chance of playing next week’s US Open – was in a share of fifth on eight under par alongside Englishman Ricard McEvoy.
Player quotes
Zander Lombard
“It’s always a great position to be in, to really compete, and I’m looking forward to it a lot, so I’m going to give it my best and try to stick to what I’m doing – it seems to be working so far.
“It was a bit of a brain burp at the ninth to be honest, because it was never a driver for me all week – my gameplay there was a two-iron – but my confidence got to me and I just wanted to hit a little cut off the left bunker and I came out of it a little. It wasn’t that bad of a shot but there’s no margin for error on that tee shot so I paid the price.
“But at least I kept my cool around the turn and steadied the ship with a good par. The birdie at 11 was another good switch to get my momentum going in the right direction.
“I had some big birdies out there which I needed but obviously you’re always going to hit bad shots in this game and unlucky that it was a tough hole.”
Ashun Wu
“I played really well today and I’m feeling good right now. The weather was nice to us too, the conditions on this course are great.
“I made a lot of birdies today and no bogeys so I’m getting a really good feeling at the moment. Yesterday, the wind was very tough so everybody struggled – you could see that not many players were under par. The wind was so strong so if your tee shot wasn’t perfect, you were going to be in trouble.
“I just need to keep going now, don’t slow down and keep making birdies.”
Grégory Bourdy
“It was actually not as solid as the first two days but I had two difficult double bogeys from two mistakes. The rest was good and solid though, I stayed calm and focussed and that’s why I finished with two birdies.
“It’s really unusual to finish at a par three but it’s nice, it’s a great finishing hole. I was very happy to finish with two birdies because they’re two difficult finishing holes.
“I’m challenging for the title, in a good position and I really like this course so let’s see how it goes. I’ll do my best to make it a great round tomorrow.”
Adrian Otaegui
“Obviously conditions were a bit easier than yesterday afternoon, almost no wind and the greens were a little softer. But I played pretty well again for the whole 18 holes so I’m happy.
“I was trying to play hole by hole and I think I did that well. You have to be concentrated, you can make little mistakes on every hole so you have to stay focussed.
“I’m happy to be in contention, just another day tomorrow and there are still a lot of holes to play so we’ll see.”
Joost Luiten
“The putt at the last was a left to right at the start and it came back nicely from right to left at the end, and it had just enough speed to drop in the hole, so that was a nice bonus.
“The first hole is a short par five and you need to make birdie there, luckily I did although unfortunately I made a bogey at the next par five – the fourth – but I came back strong after that mistake and that got me back into a nice position for the last day.
“That’s all that matters – being in contention. I made mistakes but I managed to stay calm, create a few birdie opportunities, take them and tomorrow is a new day. The last day is always the toughest but hopefully I can put some pressure on the leaders.”
Scores:
205 Z Lombard (RSA) 67 70 68,
206 W Ashun (Chn) 69 72 65,
207 A Otaegui (Esp) 64 76 67, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 69 70,
208 R McEvoy (Eng) 71 69 68, J Luiten (Ned) 69 71 68,
209 M Kinhult (Swe) 70 74 65,
210 C Paisley (Eng) 71 73 66, J Morrison (Eng) 70 72 68,
211 E De La Riva (Esp) 69 74 68, R Gouveia (Por) 69 74 68,
212 M Lundberg (Swe) 72 71 69, C Wood (Eng) 71 71 70, B Virto (Esp) 70 69 73, M Carlsson (Swe) 71 74 67, C Hanson (Eng) 71 74 67, N Cullen (Aus) 71 73 68, S Henry (Sco) 70 74 68,
213 S Webster (Eng) 71 73 69, C Pigem (Esp) 75 71 67, R Lee (Can) 71 76 66, M Foster (Eng) 74 72 67, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 74 69,
214 B Åkesson (Swe) 66 77 71, B Evans (Eng) 72 71 71, G Stal (Fra) 67 71 76, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 73 73 68, T Lewis (Eng) 70 76 68, N Bertasio (Ita) 72 74 68, M Crespi (Ita) 70 71 73, T Van Der Walt (RSA) 72 74 68,
215 D Burmester (RSA) 73 72 70, E Molinari (Ita) 73 71 71, L Slattery (Eng) 73 74 68, A Wall (Eng) 71 75 69, M Millar (Aus) 76 71 68,
216 P Oriol (Esp) 75 72 69, F Fritsch (Ger) 74 71 71, D Bransdon (Aus) 69 73 74, S Manley (Wal) 71 75 70, S Jamieson (Sco) 69 72 75, J Knutzon (USA) 70 76 70, A McArthur (Sco) 75 71 70, L Nemecz (Aut) 69 75 72, S Walker (Eng) 73 72 71, P Edberg (Swe) 72 75 69, J Kruger (RSA) 72 74 70,
217 R Bland (Eng) 72 73 72, M Southgate (Eng) 70 76 71, D Howell (Eng) 71 74 72, M Ford (Eng) 72 70 75,
218 D Horsey (Eng) 69 77 72, J Carlsson (Swe) 74 70 74, C Kumar (Ind) 71 72 75, M Hoey (Nir) 72 71 75, D Brooks (Eng) 72 74 72, O Fisher (Eng) 73 71 74,
219 D Gaunt (Aus) 71 75 73, D Im (USA) 73 74 72,
220 D Gavins (Eng) 72 74 74, G Havret (Fra) 71 72 77, E Goya (Arg) 71 75 74, C Costilla (Arg) 74 72 74, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 72 75 73,
221 M Warren (Sco) 73 71 77,
222 P Peterson (USA) 75 72 75,
