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Harare - Adilson da Silva led the charge with a Saturday 68 at Royal Harare Golf Club, where the Brazilian claimed a three-shot advantage at the 54-hole mark of the Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open.
“I played well today and overall I hung in there. On this course if you miss a tee shoot there is plenty of trouble. The greens are faster than they look and I made some small mistakes today, but I’m happy,” he said.
According to the Sunshine Tour website, the 12-time Sunshine Tour winner has made 3170 birdies in his career, six of which came on Saturday as he climbed to 14-under-par for the tournament.
“I made birdies on eight and nine and it brought me back into it. I was feeling a little bit down and those two holes kicked me up a bit.
“I feel like I’m playing well, so I just have to keep it in play and give myself a bit of a chance. I’ll get a number in my head and if I achieve it then I’ll be happy,” he said.
The 43-year-old based himself in Zimbabwe early in his career and he trained at Royal Harare under the guidance of Tim Price, the brother of local golfing legend Nick Price.
On Saturday the crowds were out in force to support Da Silva and he delivered the goods.
“Winning here would mean a lot for me. I spent a lot of time here when I was young and this was my home club. It’s very nice to have that support and it pushes you to make things happen. Guys like golf here and it’s great to see so many people,” he said.
Dean Burmester grew up in Zimbabwe and he also had plenty of support during the third round. The two-time Sunshine Tour champ shot a level-par 72 to remain within sight of the lead. He heads into the final round on 11-under-par and tied for second place.
“I’m three back and in with a shout. You never know what will happen in this game, so we’ll have to wait and see what tomorrow holds. The morale from the people coming out to support this week is fantastic. Thousands of people come out in the weekend and it’s really nice to have a crowd behind you,” he said.
Joining the tie for second was defending champion Jbe’ Kruger, who struggled to get going and shot a one-over-par 73. He’ll be keen to make amends during the final round.
Jacques Blaauw and JC Ritchie shared fourth place and both players had an outside chance to clinch the title from their position of 10-under-par, while Erik van Rooyen carded 67 to take up sole sixth on nine-under.
SCORES (RSA unless otherwise specified):
202 - Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 66 68 68
205 - Dean Burmester 67 66 72, Jbe' Kruger 64 68 73
206 - Jacques Blaauw 69 69 68, JC Ritchie 67 70 69
207 - Erik van Rooyen 71 69 67
209 - Christiaan Basson 67 70 72
210 - Merrick Bremner 72 73 65, Andrew Curlewis 72 72 66
211 - Ulrich van den Berg 70 73 68, Mark Murless 73 69 69, Neil Schietekat 74 68 69, Justin Harding 72 67 72
212 - Anthony Michael 74 70 68
213 - Grant Doverspike (USA) 72 71 70, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 71 72 70, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 72 70 71, Divan van den Heever 71 71 71, Jacques Kruyswijk 70 71 72, Chris Swanepoel 70 69 74
214 - Werner van Niekerk 79 67 68, Jake Roos 74 71 69, Tyrone Mordt 73 69 72, Rhys West 70 70 74
215 - Wallie Coetsee 78 68 69, Danie van Tonder 72 71 72, Justin Turner 71 69 75
216 - Andrew Georgiou 70 77 69, Stuart Smith (BOT) 68 76 72, Lindani Ndwandwe 71 72 73, Attie Schwartzel 69 73 74, Colin Nel 69 73 74, Ruan de Smidt 70 72 74, Alan Michell 72 68 76
217 - Lyle Rowe 73 74 70, Coert Groenewald 75 72 70, Rourke van der Spuy 72 74 71, Doug McGuigan 72 74 71, Matthew Carvell 76 70 71, Jaco Prinsloo 72 74 71, Theunis Spangenberg 73 73 71, Trevor Mahoney 71 73 73, Madalitso Muthiya (ZAM) 72 72 73, Russel Franz 74 70 73, Tyrone Ryan 72 70 75, Andrew McLardy 71 70 76
218 - Patrick Newcomb (USA) 74 73 71, TC Charamba (ZIM) 74 72 72, Daniel Greene 70 74 74, PH McIntyre 73 71 74, Mark Williams (ZIM) 68 75 75
219 - Steve Surry (ENG) 72 75 72, Wynand Dingle 74 72 73
220 - Derik Ferreira 75 71 74, Michiel Bothma 72 73 75, Omar Sandys 74 71 75, Michael Hollick 72 69 79
221 - Shaun Norris 71 76 74, Breyten Meyer 76 70 75, Thabang Simon 72 74 75, Makhetha Mazibuko 72 73 76
222 - Morne Buys 75 70 77, Tyrone Ferreira 72 69 81
223 - Callum Mowat 74 73 76, Teboho Sefatsa 70 77 76, Titch Moore 73 72 78
225 - Stuart Krog (ZIM) (AMA) 76 71 78
227 - Dale Howie (ZIM) 75 72 80
