Altin van der Merwe took a big step towards securing a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title by extending his lead to four on moving day in the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa.
The South African improved on his one stroke overnight advantage thanks to a sensational seven under par round of 65 to reach 18 under par for the week, four clear of Frenchman Sébastien Gros who occupies solo second.
Van der Merwe, who turned professional in July last year after making waves as an amateur, is now in pole position to earn a breakthrough win but isn’t looking too far ahead despite the commanding lead he holds.
“It would be massive to win,” he said. “I’d like to go and just play a normal round of golf and not think about the consequences, but it’s not that simple.
“If I can shut that out, that would be great. It’s mentally tough, but for me and my wife it’ll open up some bigger plans, but I still need to get the job done.
“Today, I couldn’t just play conservative and wait for everyone to catch up. We went aggressive the whole round, went for flags and it paid off. Hopefully we can do a little bit of the same tomorrow.”
Van der Merwe improved his lead early on day three with back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes, before adding two more at the sixth and seventh.
The 28-year-old dropped just his second shot of the week at the ninth, but a birdie at 12, an eagle at the par five 15th, and another gain on 17, saw him move into a commanding position with 18 holes to play.
Van der Merwe’s wife has been caddying all week, and he says the relationship between the duo on the course has been a key part of his success through 54 holes.
“It was really fun out there,” he added. “When we teed off on the first tee, my wife said just to get that one out of the way, and I actually said I wasn’t nervous at all.
“The green reading of my wife has been exceptional this week. My putter has been hot but her reading of the greens has been outstanding. She’s also keeping me mentally stable throughout the whole round which has been important.
“Everything I do, she does. She’s just as invested as I am, and I know we’re both giving 100%.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow and how I handle it.”
American Nick Carlson occupies third place on 13 under par, with five players two shots further back in fourth, including South Africans Daniel van Tonder, Malcolm Mitchell and Nikhil Rama, Spaniard Lucas Vacarisas and Englishman George Bloor.
The final round of the SDC Open gets under way tomorrow at 6:25am, with Van der Merwe teeing off alongside Gros and Carlson at 11:00am.
