Zander Lombard blazed through the field on Saturday in the third round of the DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra Golf Club with a superb nine-under-par 63 taking him to the top of the leaderboard ahead of the final round.
With six birdies on the front nine, three on the homeward nine, and not a dropped shot on the card, Lombard vaulted 14 spots up the leaderboard. At 16-under for the tournament, he was one shot clear of second-round leader Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark. England’s Gavin Daniels was in third on 14-under-par.
It wasn’t a display of great accuracy off the tee by Lombard, as he managed to find just five of 14 fairways, but he hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation and he had just 23 putts. He led the field in that metric, and as long as you find the green, that kind of play is always going to produce a great score.
While Lombard was shooting the lights out, Hojgaard would not have been unhappy with a four-under-par 68. It was a round during which made only his second bogey of the tournament. That consistency and the mercurial ability of Lombard will make for a fascinating final round pairing.
It was a disappointing day for the other South Africans who made the cut: George Coetzee had a two-over-par 74 to slip to six-over for the tournament in a share of 29th; Louis de Jager carded a level-par 72 and was in a share of 37th on five-under; Oliver Bekker signed for a one-over 73 to slip to four-under and a share of 44th; Thriston Lawrence and JC Ritchie were also in 44th after each carding one-under 71; Shaun Norris also had a 73 and was in 55th on three-under; and Justin Walters went one-over in the third round and was on one-under in a share of 65th.
