Laurie Canter fought back from a nightmare start to his third round to post a 68 and share the lead ahead of the final day of the 2025 Investec South African Open Championship.
Home favourite Dylan Naidoo sits alongside Canter at the top of the leaderboard on 14 under par after carding two birdies and one bogey in his 71, finishing his round in near-darkness after a marathon day of action at Durban Country Club.
In-form Englishman Canter, who won in Bahrain a month ago and tops the International Swing standings, had to play 27 holes on Saturday after a delayed start to the tournament meant the second round could not be completed on day two.
Four birdies and a bogey in the last nine holes of his second round saw Canter sit four shots off the lead at the halfway stage but he surrendered a double bogey at the very first hole in round three to fall off the pace.
He bounced back in style, though, going birdie-eagle at the second and third before carding five birdies and two bogeys over his remaining 15 holes for a share of the lead.
Naidoo had a good chance to take the outright lead in fading light at the 18th, as he chipped to five feet to send the big crowd watching him wild and set up a decent birdie opportunity.
But the putt lipped out, and he will start his final round neck-and-neck with Canter.
England's Marco Penge sits one shot behind the co-leaders in third after his 68.
After dropping two shots at the first hole, Canter got his third round back on track with a birdie at the par-three second before producing a shot-of-the-day contender to set up a close-range eagle on the third.
A bogey followed on the short fourth but Canter reeled off a hat-trick of gains at the sixth, seventh and eighth to storm into contention.
And a ten-foot birdie on the 11th earned him a share of the lead before he led on his own courtesy of a 12-footer at the 15th.
He would give the shot back on the 16th, though, and parred the final two holes to get into the clubhouse on 14 under.
Canter enjoyed playing in the wind on Saturday, saying: "The golf course was a bit of a different animal in the wind. It was so much fun to play and such a great test.
"I like seeing the course with wind because I think that’s how it’s meant to play.
"This tournament's got amazing history. I actually won the South African Amateur (in 2010) so it would be pretty special to win the South African Open and do the double."
Naidoo started the day one shot off the lead before making close-range birdies at the third and tenth to reach the summit.
And although he made some impressive par saves on the homeward nine, he was unable to keep his card clean as he bogeyed the 15th.
But despite the sun setting rapidly, he managed to par his way in to remain locked alongside Canter at the top as the home hope goes in search of a maiden DP World Tour title, and one that would mean a lot to him.
He said: "I didn't even know I was tied for the lead, so that's good. It was a Test match out there, really difficult.
"You had wind that was swirling. It really wasn't easy, it was patience and patience and Test cricket, basically. So it was a tough day and I would have liked to have given the crowd more birdies but it's not the type of day it was at all.
"I felt like Tiger Woods for the day. It's outrageous. I’ve never experienced that before in my life. It was just like an overflow of emotion.
"I’m ready for everything tomorrow has in store."
South African amateur Christiaan Maas sits just two shots off the lead after his 70.
