“It’s bunched up at the top and in this format things can change quickly. It’s hard to make promises, but I’ve come close a few times, so it’s nice to be back in that position,” he said.
At the 54-hole mark there were 10 players within five points of the lead set by Mordt, who totalled 34 points by the time he signed his scorecard.
The wind picked up on Friday and frontrunners Drikus van der Walt and Doug McGuigan fell away in the trying conditions. Mordt had his own share of trouble, but produced birdies at the 17th and 18th to assert himself as the third-round leader.
“The wind was stronger than it has been so far and I made a double on the back nine, which set me back a bit, but I finished nicely and those last two holes helped me a lot,” said the 31-year-old.
In 2011 he led the Nashua Masters coming down the stretch, but was unable to secure the victory and finished an agonising second to Shaun Norris.
This week in Swaziland there is a real chance for Mordt, who has 16 top-10s, to make amends and secure his maiden title.
Two of the last three Investec Royal Swazi Opens have been one by Investec-sponsored players. It was no surprise that Mordt, who bares the title sponsor’s logo on his shirt, was the 54-hole leader.
“To be with all of the Investec guys is nice, it’s a bit more special to play a tournament with them. It would be amazing to win their tournament, so I’ll really give it my best tomorrow,” he said.
One point back and chasing hard were Ockie Strydom and PH McIntyre, who shared second on 33 points. Peter Karmis was sole fourth on 32 points, while Jacques Kruyswijk, James Kamte, and Charl Coetzee shared fifth on 30 points each.
SCORES (RSA unless otherwise specified):
34 - Tyrone Mordt 9 14 11
33 - Ockie Strydom 8 12 13, PH McIntyre 11 7 15
32 - Peter Karmis 5 16 11
30 - Jacques Kruyswijk 11 8 11, Charl Coetzee 13 13 4, James Kamte 10 8 12
29 - Michael Hollick 6 9 14, Matthew Carvell 6 14 9, Drikus van der Walt 16 14 -1
28 - Zander Lombard 5 10 13, Rhys West 14 7 7, Bryce Bibby 9 9 10
27 - Ryan Tipping 6 9 12, Grant Veenstra 11 5 11, Mark Williams (ZIM) 10 9 8
26 - Jaco Prinsloo 8 2 16, Morne Buys 8 3 15
25 - Steven Ferreira 5 11 9, Andrew McLardy 9 13 3
24 - Ruan de Smidt -1 12 13, JJ Senekal 6 13 5, Francesco Laporta (ITA) 5 13 6
23 - Heinrich Bruiners 11 3 9, Doug McGuigan 17 10 -4
22 - JC Ritchie 13 2 7, Allan Versfeld 10 10 2
21 - Anthony Michael 2 10 9, Daniel Greene 6 13 2
20 - Attie Schwartzel 7 8 5, Wynand Dingle 7 8 5, Daniel Hammond 11 5 4, Andre Cruse 8 9 3
19 - Chris Swanepoel 2 7 10, Theunis Spangenberg 10 1 8, Mark Murless 4 7 8, Thabo Maseko 4 10 5, Callum Mowat 9 8 2
18 - Thabang Simon 6 7 5
17 - Grant Muller 0 12 5, Jared Harvey 6 6 5
16 - Warren Abery 7 4 5
14 - Thanda Mavundla 8 3 3, Jake Redman -1 15 0
13 - Gert Myburgh 2 7 4, Steve Surry (ENG) 6 4 3, John Bele 8 4 1, Greg Bentley (ZIM) 2 11 0
12 - Arthur Horne (SWZ) 6 10 -4
11 - Andrew Georgiou 5 4 2, Desvonde Botes 9 4 -2
10 - Michiel Bothma 6 7 -3
8 - Bradford Vaughan 7 2 -1