Wilco Nienaber may not be as satisfied as he could be with his third round of two-over-par 74 on Saturday in the third round of the DP World Tour’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, but he will relish the opportunity to play the final round close to the top of the leaderboard.
Nienaber is in a share of fourth, just two shots off the lead after his first two rounds of 68 each took him right into contention. Leading are Matthew Jordan of England and Adrian Meronk of Poland on eight-under, with Kalle Samooja of Finland on seven-under in third.
Nienaber will play the final round in the company of Pablo Larrazabal of Spain, who won the last DP Wolrd Tour co-sanctioned event at Pecanwood in South Africa. He will watch the volatile Spaniard closely to learn about closing out tournaments.
Zander Lombard is in a share of 11th on four-under after his second successive level-par 72, with Justin Walters and Brandon Stone in a share of 19th on three-under. Justin Harding is on two-under and Thriston Lawrence on one-under with Hennie du Plessis and George Coetzee.
Darren Fichardt and Louis de Jager are on level-par, Jacques Kruyswijk on one-over and Dean Burmester on five-over.
Bryce Easton, Oliver Bekker, Haydn Porteous and Jovan Rebula missed the cut.
