Lombard lays down marker

Two South African young guns made use of moving day at the Joburg Open to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
Zander Lombard’s seven-under-par 65 in particular caught the eye.
He moved to 15-under at the 54-hole mark of the tournament, sharing the lead with Haydn Porteous, who carded a battling four-under-par 68, and with England’s Anthony Wall, who came second in the tournament last year and signed for a 68 in this year’s third round.
“I started off birdie, birdie and that really got the momentum going,” said Lombard. “I was hitting the ball in the right places, finding the fairways and greens, and holed a few nice putts and just kept a solid round together.”
Porteous had more difficulty to contend with than the other two leaders: He was wayward off the tees and that kept him under pressure throughout the round. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been hitting it that well this week,” he said “I only hit two fairways today, and, while that didn’t stop me making birdies when I could, it did cause me to make more bogeys than I should have.
“I think my short game has helped me a bit through these last three days, and today was probably a little worse than the previous two days and around the East if you’re missing fairways it can be tough. You’ve got to accept that you are going to make bogeys and when I gave myself an opportunity to make birdie I did.”
Wall’s 68 was his second bogey-free round of the week, after he opened with a 65, and followed it with 67 in the second round with two bogeys on the card. He loves playing South Africa: “It just proves to me that I love coming here,” he said. “It’s a great golfing country and they love sport here, so it just gets you up a little bit more because you know people appreciate it.”
Two strokes behind the leading trio was a cosmopolitan group of four players on 13-under, consisting of American Daniel Im, local Jacques Blaauw, Irishman Paul Dunne and overnight leader Ross McGowan of England.
Im carded a bogey-free 65, Blaauw closed with three birdies and an eagle in his final four holes for a 67, Dunne fored a 68 and McGowan battled to a one-over 73.
Lombard’s 65 came despite drops on the third and the 11th, but it was the nine birdies under pressure that showed what he could do. And that ability to fight off adversity is something that he started showing when he came third in the Australian PGA Championship in December.
“I think Australia gave me a lot of maturity in my game,” he said. “You know every shot counts and I missed out by one, so I definitely have to keep it tidy tomorrow.”
Latest
-
News
Sponsor Ralph Lauren drops Justin Thomas following homophobic slur in Hawaii
The world number three uttered the derogatory word towards himself after missing a putt at Kapalua last weekend.
-
News
Bryson DeChambeau keeping brain relaxed to avoid repeat of Masters misery
DeChambeau said his brain went into overdrive at Augusta National.
-
News
European Tour preparing for business as planned in the Middle East
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is due to start next week.
-
News
Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera arrested in Brazil
The former US Open and Masters winner was on the run from the law.
-
News
On this Day in 2013: Paul McGinley given Ryder Cup captaincy
McGinley would go on to be involved in a sixth Ryder Cup victory.
-
News
Collin Morikawa keen to draw inspiration from family ties to Hawaii at Sony Open
Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas has withdrawn from the event after testing positive for coronavirus.
-
News
R&A: ‘No plans’ for Open to head to Donald Trump-owned Turnberry in near future
Trump National in Bedminster was on Sunday stripped of next year’s US PGA Championship.
-
News
US PGA Championship moved from Donald Trump-owned course in New Jersey
Trump National in Bedminster had been set to host the event.
-
News
Justin Thomas : ‘I made a terrible, terrible judgement call’
Thomas admitted he was distracted by what happened on Saturday during his final round.
-
News
PGA Championship to be moved away from Donald Trump-owned course
It is the second time in six years the PGA has moved an event away from a course owned by Donald Trump.