Dan’s the man as English invitee eyes up a stunning wire-to-wire success
Englishman Dan Bradbury takes a one-shot lead into today’s final round of the Joburg Open as he bids to clinch a wire-to-wire victory in only his third DP World Tour event.
Bradbury, who only turned professional in July, continued to make the most of a sponsor’s invite this week as he carded six birdies and two bogeys in a third-round 67 to get to 17-under-par.
He heads into today’s fourth round one stroke ahead of Sami Valimaki after the Finn made a disappointing double bogey at the last to surrender the lead.
Home favourite Daniel Van Tonder was two shots further back in third, two ahead of fellow South Africans Casey Jarvis and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Bradbury, 23, safely parred the opening two holes of his third round but was overtaken at the top of the leaderboard as playing partner Jarvis made a birdie-birdie start to get to 14-under.
Jarvis stretched his advantage to two shots with a monster eagle putt at the third, with Bradbury notching his first birdie of the day there from close range to keep him within reach.
There was a two-shot swing in
Bradbury’s favour at the fourth as the Englishman holed his birdie try from around four feet, while 19-year-old Jarvis made a bogey to join him on 15-under.
Bradbury then made back-toback birdies at the sixth and seventh to go two clear but a bogey on the ninth meant he had to settle for a one-shot lead at the turn.
He bounced straight back with a birdie on the 10th but was joined at the top by Valimaki after the Finn birdied the 13th.
They each made birdie at the short 14th before Bradbury bogeyed the 16th to put Valimaki in pole position.
But Valimaki got into tree trouble at the 18th and made a double bogey there to see Bradbury lead the way once more.
Bradbury said: “I knew that if I just played my own game and kept playing solid golf, I’d be somewhere near where I need to be at the end of the day. And that’s how it’s worked out.
“I’ve never really been in this position before but I’ve won tournaments – college golf kind of set me up for that, so that’s quite nice.
“I don’t feel out of place, which is the biggest thing. It’s just keeping a positive mindset and believing you should be here and you deserve it.”
Scotland’s Craig Howie is in a share of 17th on seven-under-par following a 69 yesterday.
■ Hometown favourite Cameron Smith endured some mid-round troubles but recovered to claim a three-shot lead headed into this morning’s final round of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.
The Open champion and world No. 3 began yesterday trailing compatriot Jason Scrivener by a single stroke – a deficit he quickly set about erasing.
Smith took the lead with birdies on four of his first seven holes, before a dropped shot on the parfive ninth signalled a significant change in momentum, leading to two more bogeys on 11 and 12.
But the 29-year-old LIV Golf rebel relied on his Tour experience to reset and pick up two more birdies down the stretch.
Despite dropping another shot on the 18th, Smith’s score of two-under 69 was enough to carry a three-shot advantage into today, ahead of China’s Yan Wei Liu and Masahiro Kawamura of Japan.
Meanwhile, overnight leader Scrivener fell to equal-fourth after carding five bogeys en route to a score of three-over 74.