Altin van der Merwe made a significant statement on Saturday in the third round of the FBC Zim Open at the Royal Harare Golf Club when he signed for an impressive eight-under-par 64 and the tournament lead as he targets another opportunity at a maiden Sunshine Tour title.
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Van Der Merwe heads the field on 17 under par heading into Sunday’s final round, with Kyle Barker (66) and Austin Bautista (67) his nearest challengers on 13 under par.
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Tomas Gana, who led for the first two rounds, dropped to 10 under par with a 73. Kieran Vincent leads the local challenge on nine under par following his 65, and with a strong contingent of five Zimbabwean professionals having made the cut.
The South African duo of Van der Merwe and Barker battled for the lead on Saturday, with eagles and birdies the order of the day. Barker made the initial charge, starting with two birdies and two eagles within the first six holes. But three bogeys slowed his momentum. Australia’s Bautista, who finished second in this event last year, made his surge to join Barker in second place.
But Van Der Merwe kept his composure and with a round of five birdies, two eagles and one bogey he claimed the lead.
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“Today was awesome. It was a great day of golf. I executed about 90% of what I wanted to do. The course was a lot softer after the rain and played a lot more reliable. But even with that said, the course is brilliant and still tight. If you hit fairways and greens you’re going to have a good day. The putter was good. I’m not changing anything for the final day. I’m rocking up to that first tee with the same gameplan,” he said.
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Van Der Merwe has had a few opportunities before this to break through on the Sunshine Tour, and the former Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year will definitely take all of that experience into a final round of one of the most historic events on the Tour which has Major winners and former world number ones on its list of previous champions.
