Matteo Manassero held his nerve and the lead on another low-scoring day at the Jonsson Workwear Open and will head into Sunday’s final round chasing his first DP World Tour title in 11 years. MICHAEL VLISMAS reports.
The Italian signed for a third round of 67 that was briefly interrupted by a weather delay and heads the field on 20 under par.
His nearest challengers are South Africa’s Shaun Norris and England’s Jordan Smith on 19 under par following their respective rounds of 65 in this Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
And the leaderboard remains tight thereafter with South Africa’s Oliver Bekker and Spain’s Angel Hidalgo just two shots behind Manassero.
Manassero did a superb job of keeping his emotions in check following his stunning 61 on Friday, and even after a bogey at the 3rd he showed the hard mental work he has done to go from golf prodigy early in his career and then battle through a long slump to get to this moment again.
“It was good today,” he said. “I hit a bad shot on 3 but it’s never easy in the beginning of the round. This course requires a lot of precision off the tee. After that bogey I did my things right and it was one of those days I allowed myself to get into the rhythm and started playing better as the round went on.”
Manassero is of course keenly aware of what a story his victory on Sunday would represent in golf, but is doing his utmost to focus on the present.
“It would mean a lot to win,” he said. “But it is already a nice journey up to today. We’ll think about tomorrow tomorrow.
“It’s really difficult to close tournaments out and win. I’m in a position I’m really happy to be in and all I can do is not force anything or feel like I must do something tomorrow. I’ll just be myself and play golf.
“I’m sure of the things I do, and you never know what golf will bring you. There are a lot of things not under my control that will happen tomorrow so I’ll just play my game.”
Just one shot behind him, Norris leads the South African challenge. He had a putt on the final green when the siren sounded for the weather delay. Unfortunately he returned to make bogey, but he isn’t letting that distract him from the challenge of Sunday.
“A delay will always have an impact, but it happens,” said Norris. “Overall I’m pleased with the day and where I am. I’m hitting the ball well and putting well.
“Patience will be key on Sunday. If I can go out there and give myself maybe 15-20 foot chances on every hole I’ve got a good opportunity.”
Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
