Dylan Mostert took a two-stroke lead on 13 under par on Saturday heading into the final round of the KitKat Group ProAm at Irene Country Club.
Mostert was just a shot off the lead after a brilliant 65 in the first round, and on Saturday he followed up with a marvellous 66, leaving him a couple of shorts clear of Keagan Thomas on 11 under after rounds of 66 and 67.
First-round leader Ryan van Velzen (70) is in a tie for third on 10 under par with Louis Albertse (68).
The 23-year-old Mostert, a big-hitting former US college golfer at Dalton State, said a hot putter made the difference for him so far at Irene CC.
“My mental game has been very good, I’m hitting it in the right spots and then putting well,” Mostert said. “I just seemed to have had the knack of reading the greens right.
“It feels like if you leave yourself in a bad spot on the green here, then it will be really tough. The greens are undulating and some of the putts are very quick and can go sideways.
“I actually haven’t hit the ball that well off the tee, but I have missed in the right spots and then my play has been very good from there.”
The Modderfontein Golf Club representative now has a wonderful opportunity to claim his first Sunshine Tour title in Sunday’s final round, having finished second in the Blue Label Challenge at Gary Player Country Club last October.
“It takes consistency over all three rounds to be successful, so I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” Mostert said. “It’s going to be important to stay calm and patient, and just let it happen.
“For tomorrow, I will try to stay neutral emotionally, just do what I’ve been doing. But I also need to keep pushing because you’re not going to win this tournament shooting level par.
“So, I’ll be trying to make birdies and just keep that putter rolling.”
MJ Viljoen and Madalitso Muthiya both fired wonderful six-under-par 66s on Saturday to join Malcolm Mitchell (69) and Ockie Strydom (68) in the tie for fifth place on nine under.
