News24.com | 3-way tie for lead at Sunshine Tour Players Championship

Daniel van Tonder. (Photo by Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images)

Daniel van Tonder. (Photo by Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images)

Daniel van Tonder finished birdie-eagle for a back nine of 29 and a 63 that shot him into a three-way tie for the lead going into Sunday’s final round of the Sunshine Tour’s Players Championship at Dainfern Golf Estate.

Van Tonder led another day of low scoring that finished with him on 18 under par. Jaco Prinsloo joined him there with a 66 after lipping out for an eagle on the last that would’ve given him the sole lead. Oliver Bekker completed the trio with his bogey-free 67.

They are two strokes clear of Jacques Kruyswijk and Jake Roos.

But with the kind of scoring this tournament has seen – including a halfway cut of six under par – the three leaders are all in agreement that there is no holding back on the final day.

“This course isn’t that long so most of the holes are birdie holes. But saying that, you’ve still got to hit the fairways here because the rough is thick,” said Van Tonder, who has been in great form since the Tour resumed last August following the lockdown. He won four times in 2020, including three of the five tournaments on the Sunshine Tour’s Rise-Up Series last year.

“It’s going to feel like a shoot-out on the final day,” added Bekker. “You can’t play defensively because every hole is an opportunity to score. In the third round I just didn’t really capitalise on the front nine, and then finally made something happen on the back nine.”

The feeling was shared by Prinsloo.

“This course gives you the opportunities. I think it will help if you can get off to a fast start in the final round and try and keep the rest of the field at bay, but having said that, it usually comes down to the final few holes on the back nine.”

Scores:

198 – Daniel van Tonder 67 68 63, Jaco
Prinsloo 65 67 66, Oliver Bekker 65 66 67

200 – Jacques Kruyswijk 66 68 66, Jake
Roos 65 63 72

201 – Fredrik From 66 69 66, Alex
Haindl 67 68 66, Anthony Michael 68 66 67, Michael
Hollick 66 67 68, Jean Hugo 68 64 69

202 – Jared Harvey 64 71 67

203 – Neil Schietekat 69 68 66, Roberto
Lupini 65 71 67, Ruan Korb 66 70 67, Trevor Fisher
Jnr 68 66 69, James Kingston 65 69 69, Paul Boshoff 67
66 70, Jacques Blaauw 65 68 70

204 – Tristen Strydom 72 66 66, Jaco
Ahlers 70 68 66, Christiaan Basson 70 67 67, Kyle
Barker 68 69 67, Malcolm Mitchell 68 68 68, Matias
Calderon 68 68 68, Ruan Conradie 65 70 69, Thriston
Lawrence 69 66 69, Ulrich van den Berg 64 69 71

205 – Jake Redman 70 64 71, Steve
Surry 65 68 72

206 – JC Ritchie 67 71 68, Luca
Filippi 70 64 72

207 – Byron Coetzee 68 70 69, Luke
Jerling 68 68 71

208 – Wallie Coetsee 67 71 70, Adriel
Poonan 70 68 70, Keenan Davidse 71 67 70, Stuart
Smith 68 69 71, Madalitso Muthiya 68 69 71, Lyle
Rowe 67 68 73

209 – Shalan Govender 68 68 73, Michael
Palmer 70 66 73

210 – Andre Bossert 66 72 72, Ben
Firth 70 67 73, Chris Swanepoel 69 68 73, Clinton
Grobler 66 70 74

211 – Nikhil Rama 70 68 73, Keith
Horne 70 67 74

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