South Africa’s Hennie du Plessis came through a marathon 27 holes on Saturday to lead the Joburg Open and give himself a chance at a maiden DP World Tour title for the second week in succession.
Related: Brandon Thompson holds clubhouse lead in Joburg
Du Plessis had to complete the suspended second round on Saturday morning, and finished six shots off the lead. Then he signed for an incredible 62 in his third round – including a back nine of 29 and five successive birdies from the 10th – to lead on 14 under par.
“It was nice, but I’m pretty tired now. I’m also a bit sick, so I’m looking forward to relaxing a bit now,” said Du Plessis, who finished second in last week’s Investec South African Open.
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The man who won that tournament, Casey Jarvis, is amongst his nearest challengers on 12 under par. Jarvis signed for a 64 to join the English trio of former Joburg Open champion Dan Bradbury (64), Alex Fitzpatrick (64) and Brandon Robinson Thompson (70) in joint second place.
And American Patrick Reed remains a threat at six shots off the lead.
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But Du Plessis clearly found something on his back nine on Saturday that will make him hard to catch on Sunday.
“I got it going and I’m very pleased with the way I’m striking it and putting. It was nice. I struggled to get going on the front nine and find some momentum, and then I found something on the back nine. The birdie on 10 just started the momentum for me,” he said.
Du Plessis has been in incredible form ever since he came back from injury, and has a win and two runners-up finishes in his last six events on the Sunshine Tour.
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“I took my time coming back. I was healthy after about 15 months and then I spent three months training hard. I went to the gym and I worked on my short game. I think it’s important when you’re out for that long that you keep doing what you can. I’ve been playing well now for a while, and if you get that chance you just need to keep riding that wave.”
