PRETORIA: Riekus Nortje put himself firmly on course for a wire-to-wire victory after opening up a commanding four-shot lead heading into the final round of The Roar, the MENA Golf Tour’s third and final event in South Africa, on Thursday.
The talented South African followed his opening 65 with a solid four-under 68 to reach 11-under par for the tournament, well clear of his nearest rival Teaghan Gauche, who charged up the leaderboard with a stunning 64.
A three-man group, which included Germany’s Aaron Leitmannstetter, who started the second round just one shot off the pace, shared third a further shot adrift on six-under.
A familiar face on the MENA Golf Tour Leitmannstetter raced to five-under for the round — and 11-under for the tournament — at one stage only to endure a disastrous finish that saw the big-hitting German drop six shots on his last three holes en route to a level-par 72.
The erratic double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey finish left Leitmannstetter with a mountain to climb, but he remained upbeat going into the final round.
“I think I’m still in a solid position after two rounds. I have to see it like this. Of course, it is very disappointing now to be at six-under. We’ll see what happens in the final round,” explained Letmannstetter.
Mirroring his opening round display, Nortje mixed six birdies with a double bogey to continue his dominating form in the R500,000 event, which is con-sanctioned by the Sunshine Big Easy Tour.
“I hit one bad shot that cost me two shots on 17. I hit it way right behind a tree, but the rest was all good. I just didn’t capitalize on the par-fives,” said Nortje.
With a healthy lead heading into the final day, Nortje won’t be changing his mind-set or game plan, and the 25-year-old says the open areas on the course suit his eye.
“I actually didn’t have a clue what to expect this week because I didn’t play a practice round. I’m hitting everything pretty well – from driver straight. It is a little bit wider here and I hit more fairways today, so I hit driver as much as possible and from there, you’ve got to hit your irons in the right areas,” said Nortje.
South African Gauche provided the highlight of the day with a scintillating round. “A 64 is always a good round of golf. I’ve been hitting the ball well the whole week and to move into second, I didn’t anticipate that. I wanted to put myself in the mix and a few shots went my way,” he said.
A solid finish on some tough closing holes at Waterkloof Golf Club helped Gauche to his 10-birdie round, and he will be hoping for more of the same in the final round.
“It is good finishing well on those tough closing holes. I hit a long-iron stiff on 17 and it was pretty solid out there, taking the opportunities when they came. If I shoot 64 tomorrow and I’m not smiling then well played to whoever beats me,” added Gauche.
Jason Viljoen and Roberto Lupini joined Leitmannstetter on six-under-par in a share of third, while Siphiwe Siphayi and Dayne Moore occupied sixth on five-under-par.
An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St. Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
Multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia in addition to full playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals are some of the added incentives for the MENA Golf Tour members.
The talented South African followed his opening 65 with a solid four-under 68 to reach 11-under par for the tournament, well clear of his nearest rival Teaghan Gauche, who charged up the leaderboard with a stunning 64.
A three-man group, which included Germany’s Aaron Leitmannstetter, who started the second round just one shot off the pace, shared third a further shot adrift on six-under.
A familiar face on the MENA Golf Tour Leitmannstetter raced to five-under for the round — and 11-under for the tournament — at one stage only to endure a disastrous finish that saw the big-hitting German drop six shots on his last three holes en route to a level-par 72.
The erratic double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey finish left Leitmannstetter with a mountain to climb, but he remained upbeat going into the final round.
“I think I’m still in a solid position after two rounds. I have to see it like this. Of course, it is very disappointing now to be at six-under. We’ll see what happens in the final round,” explained Letmannstetter.
Mirroring his opening round display, Nortje mixed six birdies with a double bogey to continue his dominating form in the R500,000 event, which is con-sanctioned by the Sunshine Big Easy Tour.
“I hit one bad shot that cost me two shots on 17. I hit it way right behind a tree, but the rest was all good. I just didn’t capitalize on the par-fives,” said Nortje.
With a healthy lead heading into the final day, Nortje won’t be changing his mind-set or game plan, and the 25-year-old says the open areas on the course suit his eye.
“I actually didn’t have a clue what to expect this week because I didn’t play a practice round. I’m hitting everything pretty well – from driver straight. It is a little bit wider here and I hit more fairways today, so I hit driver as much as possible and from there, you’ve got to hit your irons in the right areas,” said Nortje.
South African Gauche provided the highlight of the day with a scintillating round. “A 64 is always a good round of golf. I’ve been hitting the ball well the whole week and to move into second, I didn’t anticipate that. I wanted to put myself in the mix and a few shots went my way,” he said.
A solid finish on some tough closing holes at Waterkloof Golf Club helped Gauche to his 10-birdie round, and he will be hoping for more of the same in the final round.
“It is good finishing well on those tough closing holes. I hit a long-iron stiff on 17 and it was pretty solid out there, taking the opportunities when they came. If I shoot 64 tomorrow and I’m not smiling then well played to whoever beats me,” added Gauche.
Jason Viljoen and Roberto Lupini joined Leitmannstetter on six-under-par in a share of third, while Siphiwe Siphayi and Dayne Moore occupied sixth on five-under-par.
An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St. Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
Multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia in addition to full playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals are some of the added incentives for the MENA Golf Tour members.
