Late birdie sees Harding pull two clear

A BONUS birdie on the 18th hole yesterday in the third round of the Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates in Ekurhuleni gave Justin Harding a two-stroke edge as he heads into the final round of the Sunshine Tour’s season-ending tournament.

After battling to find the right distances with his irons all day, his approach on the final hole was good enough to see him card a six-under-par 66, and, at 16-under 200 through 54 holes, pull clear of Darren Fichardt who signed for a 68.

“My birdie on 18, funnily enough, came from the first time I had a good number the whole day!” laughed Harding.

“It was just a nice little sawn-off nine-iron. I could go at the pin. The wind was in my favour and I made a good putt.”

He had started solidly enough with a birdie on the opening hole, but a bogey on the par-five third threatened to set him back. It did no such thing, however, and he made six more birdies in a round that looked solid, despite his professed troubles with his irons.

“I didn’t feel as if I had it swing-wise, but I kind of got it around,” he said. “I made a couple of clutch par-saves on 14 and 15 which kept the round together. I was over the green on 14 because I wasn’t swinging it that well.

“I couldn’t seem to get good yardages with my irons, and I kept finding myself in between clubs. And then I finally hit one straight over the flag and it was the wrong club. That was a good putt, and it kind of kept the momentum going. I made another good par-save on 15, then I put a couple of good swings together coming in.”

Fichardt has looked the part the whole week, and the only blemish on his card came when he gave his par putt on the 13th just a little too much and it lipped out. That drop put Harding one clear, and Fichardt was unable to pull it back down the stretch.

Behind that pair lurks Dean Burmester, who gave notice of his intentions with a five-under-par 67 to move to 13-under for the tournament, and three off the lead.

Oliver Bekker and Trevor Fisher Jnr also each shot 67, and they shared fourth place on 11-under, just five off the pace and very much in contention ahead of the final round.

“I’m looking forward to the final round being two clear,” said Harding, who has pulled off most of his five Sunshine Tour wins after leading into the final round.

“It’s going to be a good challenge with Dean there as well. There are a couple of long hitters – Oliver played quite nicely – so we look forward to a nice day.” – African News Agency (ANA)