From Sunshine Tour
Christiaan Burke fought against a difficult front nine and gusting winds to retain his place at the top of the leaderboard in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at the Pezula Golf Estate on Saturday, but with Albert Venter joining him.
Burke held the sole lead going into the third round, but was two-over-par on the front nine. Then he rediscovered the form that has seen him lead since day one and played the back nine in five-under for a 69.
It was an impressive comeback that took him into the clubhouse on 18-under-par. And that’s where Venter joined him following his sublime 64 in which he didn’t drop a single shot.
“It was really tough out there. I expected wind but not this much. I struggled a bit with my ball striking on the front nine, especially into the wind. Then on the back nine I just told myself I can do it and I need to just keep going. I’m really happy for how I fought back and am excited for the final round,” said Burke.
They are both one stroke clear of Casey Jarvis, who signed for a 69 and is chasing his second victory in three weeks on the Sunshine Tour.
Venter is hunting his third victory on the Sunshine Tour, while Burke is still chasing his maiden title on the tour.
“It was quite a windy day so I was expecting tough conditions, but I managed it well. I started off with a chip-in for birdie on the first hole which helps quite a bit. It’s a difficult hole and you can’t really go for the green with the wind into the hole. Then I just stuck to the process and was hitting good shots. I had birdies on the fourth and fifth holes which I felt like jumpstarted the round,” said Venter.
“On 13 I hit a decent drive and took on a big shot with a two-iron into the wind, and made birdie which got the back nine going. I went for the green on the drivable 14th and finished short left in the bunker, and played an exceptional bunker shot for birdie there. Then over the last few holes I just tried to keep it in play and give myself an opportunity, and I managed to birdie 17 and 18 for a spot in the final group.
“I managed myself very well around the course and hit it into the right spots, and where I didn’t I managed to make up-and-downs to keep it going. I’m very pleased and looking forward to the challenge.”
Christiaan Basson scored a hole-in-one on the par-three fifth hole, earning himself 50,000 Skybucks courtesy of Airlink. He is the seventh player this season to score a hole-in-one.
