Christiaan Bezuidenhout produced a perfectly composed round of 69 to finish on 20 under par at the conclusion of round three of the Dimension Data Pro-Am, co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, writes ANDRE HUISAMEN.
The 25-year-old will take a two-shot lead into the start of play at Fancourt on Sunday and be on the verge of only his second victory on the Sunshine Tour.
Bezuidenhout was forced to play catch-up on the leaderboard after Santiago Tarrio Ben, who shared the lead with the South African after the second round, took the lead at the Links Golf Course due his earlier tee time.
It meant Bezuidenhout had to stick to his guns on the Montagu course when he started a bit later in the day.
Fortunately, the Spaniard’s round had no effective pressure on Bezuidenhout and despite two bogeys on the first nine holes, Bezuidenhout produced an excellent finish with three birdies on the back nine to finish two shots ahead of Ben, who concluded his round on 18 under par.
But the main threat on Saturday came in the form of George Coetzee, who carded a seven-under-par 65 to finish alongside Ben in T2.
Coetzee, also playing on the Montagu layout, started with a bogey on the first hole but he recovered in brilliant fashion with four birdies on the next eight holes.
An eagle on the 10th put him very much in contention as he made a big climb up the leaderboard.
A further three birdies and one bogey have placed Coetzee in an excellent position to launch an attack on Bezuidenhout. If he can replicate his third round on Sunday then he will certainly be in with a shot of walking away as the winner.
