Tjaart van der Walt racked up eight birdies on his way to a seven under par 65 and two stroke lead after the third round of the Lion of Africa Cape Town Open.
The Saint Omer runner-up’s scorecard was flawless until a dropped shot on the 15th at the end of a notoriously difficult stretch at Royal Cape Golf Club, but he kept it all together for the rest of the round to edge ahead of Hennie Otto, who lead the tournament until the halfway mark.
“I putted well today,” said van der Walt as he reflected on a game that came together in a big way on moving day as he moved to 13 under. “I think I had one chip-in, one putt from off the green – 23 putts, 24, technically – but I saw the lines and managed to make good strokes.”
His 65 came on top of two solid three under par 69s, and he chased down Otto, who held a four stroke lead over him overnight within three holes as Otto made two bogeys and Van der Walt made two birdies as they set out on their round.
Van der Walt had a wondrous front nine; he made three birdies in a row twice – from the second to the fourth, and then the sixth to the eighth – and he very nearly made birdie on nine to turn in 29.
“I had a good feeling the whole day,” he said. “The front nine was special, and I left it in the jaws to shoot 29. Every putt I looked at was just dead-centre.”
