Colin Montgomerie threw down the gauntlet to Ernie Els in the Nedbank Golf Challenge after a blistering seven under par 65 lifted the Scot into second place behind the Open Champion going into the final round.
The pair will renew what is becoming one of the great golfing rivalries as they tee off in the final pairing on Sunday with Els holding a four stroke lead but Montgomerie on the charge.
Els’’s 69 at Sun City took him to 12 under par, four ahead of Montgomerie and American Chris DiMarco. But while Els was disappointed with his score, despite not dropping a shot, Montgomerie scorched around with a round featuring an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys climb from second last at the halfway stage to challenging for the title. Montgomerie is also the form horse having won the last two tournaments he has played in, the Volvo Masters Andalucia and the TCL Classic in China and has a hat-trick in his sights.
The two golfers share an interesting history in this tournament. Montgomerie beat Els in a play-off for the 1996 title. But Els then won at a canter in 1999, finishing at 25 under par and five strokes better than the second placed Montgomerie.
"Colin is certainly the form man the last month or so," said Els. "I know Colin will come after me in the final round. But so will Chris. Anyone within six or seven shots of my lead is capable of winning. Sergio Garcia proved that when he came from behind last year with that 63.
"So I've just got to play my own game and try and stay aggressive out there. My record is good here over the last three or four years. I've just got to try and stay ahead on the final day."
Montgomerie is full of confidence after bouncing back from an opening round of 74, in which his made a quadruple bogey eight on the first hole. But since then he has played better than anyone.
"I set myself a target of two 65s on the weekend to win. I've got one of them," he said. "I believe 15 under par will be the mark. If Ernie goes lower than that, then good luck to him."
Dimarco started just one shot behind Els, but bogeyed the first two holes before recovering for a disappointing 72, while Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke mounted an early challenge before bogeying three times on the back nine to fall back to six under.
He sits there alongside Volvo Order of Merit winner Retief Goosen, who completed a perfect eagle on the 14th to end the round with a 70, still six shots off his compatriot.
