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Hugo leads Zambia Open

Mopani - Jean Hugo moved into first place at the Mopani Copper Mines Zambia Open with a third-round 64 and began planning his route to a 15th Sunshine Tour victory on Saturday.


“All-in-all I played solidly, putted well and had a bit of luck on my side today. Sunday will be different. If you fall a few shots behind then you have to attack, if not then you steady the ship and try to play like I have over the last few days,” Hugo said after his round.

The Pretoria local was unbothered by a slow start to the third round and began firing with an eagle at the fifth hole.

The floodgates opened from there and Hugo made seven birdies over the next nine holes on his way to a 14-under-par total and a tie for the lead with Wallie Coetsee.

“At the fifth I had 112 metres into the breeze and hit a soft wedge,” said Hugo.

“It pitched about two metres in front of the hole and spun a bit left into the cup. It was nice to see that one go in and it was the catalyst for a good round.”

Hugo’s last victory was at the Origins of Golf Langebaan event in 2013, and Hugo has been made to wait 10 months since the prolific winner last lifted a trophy.

“It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow, but a good day. I’ll try to focus on my own game and see how well I can play. A lot of my round tomorrow will depend on how aggressive I feel on the tee box,” Hugo added.

Coetsee last won in 1997 and has been a Sunshine Tour journeyman for 17 years since then.

Rounds of 65, 69, 68 at Nkana Golf Club have given him a share of the lead and he has no intention of fading away come Sunday.

“I’m excited to be in contention this week and hopefully I can produce something in the 60s and have a good chance tomorrow afternoon,” he said.

Last week’s Royal Swazi Open champion Danie van Tonder was tied for second at the 54-hole mark. The 23-year-old was in form during the third round and shot a bogey-free 66 on Saturday to join Theunis Spangenberg in second place on 13-under-par.

“I’m keen for tomorrow and I want to put another win behind my name,” said Van Tonder.

“Once you win everyone gets behind you and that always helps. I’m young, but I try to work harder than anyone else and it pays off.”

Local hope Dayne Moore shot a respectable 70 to share 22nd on a four-under-par total. On Sunday the 21-year-old Zambian hopes to secure a top-10 finish in his national open.

Third round scores from the Mopani Copper Mines Zambia Open, Sunshine Tour event, on Saturday.

Scores (RSA unless otherwise specified):

202 - Jean Hugo 71 67 64, Wallie Coetsee 65 69 68

203 - Danie van Tonder 69 68 66, Theunis Spangenberg 62 72 69

205 - Jared Harvey 67 69 69

206 - Justin Harding 68 71 67, CJ du Plessis 70 67 69

207 - Allan Versfeld 71 71 65, Keenan Davidse 70 69 68

208 - Warren Abery 73 66 69, Francesco Laporta (ITA) 71 67 70, Erik van Rooyen 68 69 71

210 - Matthew Carvell 70 72 68, Louis de Jager 70 72 68, Callum Mowat 70 72 68, Christiaan Basson 73 68 69

211 - Heinrich Bruiners 70 72 69, Jaco Ahlers 72 70 69, Andrew Georgiou 71 70 70, Ruan de Smidt 73 67 71, Jacques Kruyswijk 65 72 74

212 - Dayne Moore (ZAM) 69 73 70, Doug McGuigan 73 68 71

213 - Peter Karmis 71 74 68, Wynand Dingle 70 75 68, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 70 73 70, Jacques Blaauw 74 67 72, Gert Myburgh 72 69 72, Lyle Rowe 67 70 76

214 - Bryce Easton 72 74 68, Desne van den Bergh 72 74 68, TC Charamba (ZIM) 73 72 69, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 74 70 70, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 76 67 71, Desvonde Botes 74 69 71, Andrew Light 71 72 71, Gideon Pienaar 73 69 72, JC Ritchie 72 69 73

215 - Pieter Moolman 69 76 70, Eddie Taylor 73 72 70, Titch Moore 69 73 73, Tyrone Ferreira 72 69 74

216 - Hendrik Buhrmann 74 72 70, Derick Petersen 75 71 70, Jake Redman 74 70 72, Rhys West 72 72 72, Stuart Smith (BOT) 72 72 72, Justin Turner 73 70 73, Juan Langeveld 69 74 73, Oliver Bekker 70 73 73, Le Roux Ferreira 73 69 74, T I Mazibuko 68 73 75, Merrick Bremner 69 70 77

217 - Jaco Prinsloo 69 77 71, Attie Schwartzel 72 71 74

218 - Lindani Ndwandwe 79 67 72, Neil Schietekat 78 67 73, Andrew Curlewis 72 71 75, PH McIntyre 71 71 76

219 - Dean Burmester 71 74 74, Tertius van den Berg 71 70 78

220 - Torben Baumann (GER) 73 73 74, Andre Cruse 76 70 74, Ryan Tipping 71 75 74, Shaun Smith 73 72 75, Drikus Bruyns 70 74 76, Charl Coetzee 71 72 77

221 - Francois Coetzee 72 74 75

222 - Grant Veenstra 71 75 76

224 - JG Claassen 78 68 78

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