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Cape Town - His trousers made it seem he had lost a bet on Saturday, but Colin Nel was able to celebrate his birthday with a faultless four-under-par 68 to be one shot off the pace after the third round of the Lion of Africa Cape Town Open.
Nel, clad in a pair of trousers with a South African flag motif, found himself on seven-under-par 209 after leader Mark Williams made two double-bogeys on his way home and saw the five-stroke lead he held at halfway dwindle to just the one as he carded a three-over-par 75 at Royal Cape Golf Club.
“It was a kind of birthday wish for me that morning I’d be happy with two or three-under-par,” said Nel, “and to finish four-under is a cherry on top.”
On a day on which the wind gusted and rain squalls made life unpleasant, his error-free round was an anomaly as the only one without a bogey.
“It was tough out there today. It was a grind. My goal today was to come out and try not to make any bogeys and I managed to do it,” he said. “The last two holes tested me but I’ll take it – I was happy with it.”
Those last two holes showed the deft side to his game, as he was wayward with his approaches to 17 and 18 and he needed to chip close enough to make sure of par.
“They were two good chips and two good putts which was perfect,” he said. “My short game has been good the whole week. I’ve had a bit of an oopsy-daisy every now and then, but for the most part it has been pretty good.”
Williams was not too upset about the loss of his big lead. “Two holes, two bad shots,” he shrugged. “It cost me but I tried to just put it behind me. I’ve got 18 holes tomorrow and I’m looking forward to coming out and making every shot count.”
Behind the leading pair, Christiaan Basson made his third consecutive 70 to be two strokes off the pace, and that was in a round that was not without its fair share of adventure. He made two long putts – one for eagle on the seventh and the other for birdie on 16, and then he splashed spectacularly out of water left by the rain in a lateral hazard on the 18th to make bogey.
“It didn’t feel like bogey after I got it out of there,” said Basson. “I just hope they caught that on television,” he laughed.
For Nel, who has yet to win on the Sunshine Tour – as has Williams – it’s going to be a nerve-wracking final round: “I’ve got some nerves about being near the top. I suppose you have to have a few. I felt it coming down the stretch today, so having those two good up-and-downs settled them down and made it positive for tomorrow,” he said.
Williams is as positive: “The tournament begins on the back nine on Sunday,” he said. “If someone had said to me I’d have a one-stroke lead going into the final round, I would have taken it.”
Basson, on the other hand, has two wins on the Sunshine Tour to his name. Experience could be decisive.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
208 - Mark Williams 66 67 75
209 - Colin Nel 69 72 68
210 - Christiaan Basson 70 70 70
211 - Keenan Davidse 73 68 70, Jake Roos 71 67 73
212 - Tyrone van Aswegen 72 72 68, Bradford Vaughan 73 68 71, Darryn Lloyd 70 71 71, Keith Horne 71 68 73, Dean Burmester 71 67 74
213 - Steve Surry (ENG) 70 71 72, Jaco Van Zyl 67 72 74
214 - James Kamte 71 71 72, Ross Wellington 70 71 73, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 72 68 74
215 - Martin du Toit 71 71 73, Hennie Otto 75 66 74, Jared Harvey 72 68 75
216 - Darren Fichardt 69 74 73, Warren Abery 71 71 74, Attie Schwartzel 73 66 77
217 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 72 72 73, Heinrich Bruiners 72 72 73, Wallie Coetsee 71 73 73, Andrew Georgiou 70 73 74, Matthew Carvell 72 71 74
218 - Daniel Greene 71 74 73, Peter Karmis 78 66 74, Ruan de Smidt 70 72 76, Louis de Jager 70 72 76, Peter Wilson (ENG) 72 70 76, PH McIntyre 72 70 76
219 - Riekus Nortje 76 71 72, David Hewan 72 73 74, Tyrone Ferreira 76 68 75, Graham van der Merwe 71 71 77, Alan McLean (SCO) 69 72 78
220 - Francois Haughton 73 74 73, Ulrich van den Berg 72 74 74, Desvonde Botes 72 74 74, Chris Swanepoel 70 75 75, Johan du Buisson 70 75 75
221 - Derik Ferreira 73 74 74, Jacques Blaauw 78 69 74, Teboho Sefatsa 74 71 76, Henk Alberts 70 72 79
222 - Andrew Curlewis 76 71 75, Michiel Bothma 73 72 77, Jake Redman 74 71 77, Dean O'Riley 76 69 77, Callie Swart 76 69 77, Doug McGuigan 73 71 78, JG Claassen 76 68 78, Francois van Vuuren 72 71 79
223 - Andre Cruse 69 77 77, Brandon Pieters 75 70 78, Kevin Stone 74 71 78, Allan Versfeld 72 72 79, Lyle Rowe 73 71 79, Francois Coetzee 73 69 81
224 - Brett Liddle 72 75 77, Michael du Toit 73 74 77, Pieter Moolman 73 74 77, Langley Perrins 73 73 78, Ryan Strauss 73 73 78, Juan Langeveld 70 75 79
225 - David Ryan 72 75 78, Merrick Bremner 78 68 79
226 - Grant Veenstra 74 73 79, Brent Kirstein 75 71 80
227 - Andre van Zyl 77 70 80
228 - Ryan Tipping 74 73 81
DSQ - Toto Thimba (Jnr) 69 74 DSQ
Nel, clad in a pair of trousers with a South African flag motif, found himself on seven-under-par 209 after leader Mark Williams made two double-bogeys on his way home and saw the five-stroke lead he held at halfway dwindle to just the one as he carded a three-over-par 75 at Royal Cape Golf Club.
“It was a kind of birthday wish for me that morning I’d be happy with two or three-under-par,” said Nel, “and to finish four-under is a cherry on top.”
On a day on which the wind gusted and rain squalls made life unpleasant, his error-free round was an anomaly as the only one without a bogey.
“It was tough out there today. It was a grind. My goal today was to come out and try not to make any bogeys and I managed to do it,” he said. “The last two holes tested me but I’ll take it – I was happy with it.”
Those last two holes showed the deft side to his game, as he was wayward with his approaches to 17 and 18 and he needed to chip close enough to make sure of par.
“They were two good chips and two good putts which was perfect,” he said. “My short game has been good the whole week. I’ve had a bit of an oopsy-daisy every now and then, but for the most part it has been pretty good.”
Williams was not too upset about the loss of his big lead. “Two holes, two bad shots,” he shrugged. “It cost me but I tried to just put it behind me. I’ve got 18 holes tomorrow and I’m looking forward to coming out and making every shot count.”
Behind the leading pair, Christiaan Basson made his third consecutive 70 to be two strokes off the pace, and that was in a round that was not without its fair share of adventure. He made two long putts – one for eagle on the seventh and the other for birdie on 16, and then he splashed spectacularly out of water left by the rain in a lateral hazard on the 18th to make bogey.
“It didn’t feel like bogey after I got it out of there,” said Basson. “I just hope they caught that on television,” he laughed.
For Nel, who has yet to win on the Sunshine Tour – as has Williams – it’s going to be a nerve-wracking final round: “I’ve got some nerves about being near the top. I suppose you have to have a few. I felt it coming down the stretch today, so having those two good up-and-downs settled them down and made it positive for tomorrow,” he said.
Williams is as positive: “The tournament begins on the back nine on Sunday,” he said. “If someone had said to me I’d have a one-stroke lead going into the final round, I would have taken it.”
Basson, on the other hand, has two wins on the Sunshine Tour to his name. Experience could be decisive.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
208 - Mark Williams 66 67 75
209 - Colin Nel 69 72 68
210 - Christiaan Basson 70 70 70
211 - Keenan Davidse 73 68 70, Jake Roos 71 67 73
212 - Tyrone van Aswegen 72 72 68, Bradford Vaughan 73 68 71, Darryn Lloyd 70 71 71, Keith Horne 71 68 73, Dean Burmester 71 67 74
213 - Steve Surry (ENG) 70 71 72, Jaco Van Zyl 67 72 74
214 - James Kamte 71 71 72, Ross Wellington 70 71 73, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 72 68 74
215 - Martin du Toit 71 71 73, Hennie Otto 75 66 74, Jared Harvey 72 68 75
216 - Darren Fichardt 69 74 73, Warren Abery 71 71 74, Attie Schwartzel 73 66 77
217 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 72 72 73, Heinrich Bruiners 72 72 73, Wallie Coetsee 71 73 73, Andrew Georgiou 70 73 74, Matthew Carvell 72 71 74
218 - Daniel Greene 71 74 73, Peter Karmis 78 66 74, Ruan de Smidt 70 72 76, Louis de Jager 70 72 76, Peter Wilson (ENG) 72 70 76, PH McIntyre 72 70 76
219 - Riekus Nortje 76 71 72, David Hewan 72 73 74, Tyrone Ferreira 76 68 75, Graham van der Merwe 71 71 77, Alan McLean (SCO) 69 72 78
220 - Francois Haughton 73 74 73, Ulrich van den Berg 72 74 74, Desvonde Botes 72 74 74, Chris Swanepoel 70 75 75, Johan du Buisson 70 75 75
221 - Derik Ferreira 73 74 74, Jacques Blaauw 78 69 74, Teboho Sefatsa 74 71 76, Henk Alberts 70 72 79
222 - Andrew Curlewis 76 71 75, Michiel Bothma 73 72 77, Jake Redman 74 71 77, Dean O'Riley 76 69 77, Callie Swart 76 69 77, Doug McGuigan 73 71 78, JG Claassen 76 68 78, Francois van Vuuren 72 71 79
223 - Andre Cruse 69 77 77, Brandon Pieters 75 70 78, Kevin Stone 74 71 78, Allan Versfeld 72 72 79, Lyle Rowe 73 71 79, Francois Coetzee 73 69 81
224 - Brett Liddle 72 75 77, Michael du Toit 73 74 77, Pieter Moolman 73 74 77, Langley Perrins 73 73 78, Ryan Strauss 73 73 78, Juan Langeveld 70 75 79
225 - David Ryan 72 75 78, Merrick Bremner 78 68 79
226 - Grant Veenstra 74 73 79, Brent Kirstein 75 71 80
227 - Andre van Zyl 77 70 80
228 - Ryan Tipping 74 73 81
DSQ - Toto Thimba (Jnr) 69 74 DSQ
