Zander Lombard is in pole position to secure his maiden DP World Tour title after reaching 18 under par on Saturday at the Soudal Open.
The South African, who held a one-stroke advantage after day one and a share of the lead at the 36-hole mark, delivered another solid round of 66 to move to the outright lead at Rinkven International Golf Club.
Related: Lombard, Vaillant share halfway lead in Soudal Open
Lombard opened his third round in style, making two birdies and an eagle across his first five holes to give himself some breathing space on moving day.
View this post on Instagram
A dropped shot at the seventh cut the margin, with countryman MJ Daffue powering up the leaderboard, while an important eight-footer for bogey on the 14th and a slightly longer par save at the 15th minimised any major damage done to his card.
The 31-year-old, having finished runner-up seven times on the DP World Tour, regrouped to add three consecutive birdies and go five under for the day, jumping clear ahead of the final round in Antwerp.
View this post on Instagram
Daffue, who began his day four shots off the pace, produced his best round of the week, signing for a 65 thanks to five birdies, an eagle and a bogey, to move to second at 15 under par.
The 37-year-old has registered two HotelPlanner Tour wins so far this season and will look to capitalise on his momentum come Sunday.
View this post on Instagram
Frenchman Tom Vaillant, Dane Jacob Skov Olesen and Englishman Ben Schmidt are in a group one shot back, while Spain’s Jorge Campillo, South Africa’s Richard Sterne, England’s Andrew Johnston and Sweden’s Albin Bergstrom sit at 13 under par.
Player quotes
Zander Lombard: I just went out the there and things happened for me. It was a lovely start. I kind of dragged my heels a bit around the turn; a few loose shots, and I managed to get a few good up and downs. I said to my caddie after hitting a drive on 14 into the water: why are we doing this? Why are we playing these stupid shots? Then, after making that putt on 15, I said: that was the last of it, let’s get back into our focus. I then finished with three birdies in a row. So, I think it was a good character-building day today, and I’m ready for tomorrow.
View this post on Instagram
They were massive (the putts on 14 and 15). I spoke earlier into the week about just maintaining momentum and building on momentum, and even for a bogey to make a seven, eight-footer, it was huge, and then another 12-footer on 15. So, it definitely kept me in the game, to be able to go make those three birdies coming home.
If I knew (what it took to win), I would have won by now, but I’m just going stick to my guns, stick to my strengths, and keep ticking my box to stay in my bubble.
