Wilco Nienaber will take a commanding six-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the NTT DATA Pro-Am as he seeks to become only the fourth golfer in the history of this tournament to win the title twice.
With a third round of 66 on Fancourt’s Montagu course on Saturday, Nienaber climbed to 25 under par overall and remained in control of a tournament that he has led from day one following an incredible opening round of 60.
His nearest challenger is Jacques Blaauw on 19 under par after he signed for a 69 on Saturday.
Nienaber defeated Swede Henric Sturehed in a play-off to secure his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at the NTT DATA Pro Am in 2021 and he is now in prime position to get his hands on the iconic eagle trophy once again. A victory on Sunday would see him join Nick Price, Darren Fichardt and Oliver Bekker as the only players to have won it twice in its 30-year history.
“I’m treating Sunday like just another golf day. I did think about my victory here in 2021 and just tried to get into that same headspace. This is a different position to be in because in 2021 I hadn’t thought of winning and then it just happened,” he said.
Nienaber started his third round with a bogey on the first, but it was his first bogey all week and he was able to quickly move past it as he made seven birdies thereafter, including three consecutive birdies to finish.
“I know I can make bogeys, but I also know I can make a lot of birdies. That shot on the first was average and then I got punished by being plugged in the bunker, so bogey was actually a good score there. At one point I did wonder if there were going to be many birdies out there today, but I just put that out of my mind and did my own thing. I’m really rolling the putter nicely,” he said.
Nienaber has done exceptionally well to keep himself in the present despite playing such dominant golf this week, and it’s something he hopes to continue doing on Sunday.
“There are obviously a lot of thoughts going through your mind during a round and there’s a lot of time between shots. It sounds like a cliché but you really just need to focus on every single shot. If I can do that, I’ll be fine.”
South African Kyle Barker sits in third position on 17-under-par, while Swede Per Längfors carded a five-under 68 on The Links to move into fourth alongside Sam Jones from New Zealand on 15-under-par.
South Africa’s Jean-Paul Strydom posted an eight-under 65, also on The Links, to climb into sixth on 14-under-par, while England’s Jamie Rutherford and Scotland’s Daniel Young are a shot further back in seventh.
