JOHANNESBURG – Louis Albertse kept his composure on a day when he admitted he wasn’t at his best and still managed to claim a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round of the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq.
Albertse signed for a 68 on the composite nine-hole layout at Royal Johannesburg’s East Course to lead the field on 15 under par, and also lead the chase for the R1 million in prize money for first place this weekend.
His nearest challengers are Welshman Rhys Enoch and Sunshine Ladies Tour campaigner Casandra Alexander on 12 under par following their respective rounds of 66 and 73.
Alexander started the round with a two-stroke lead following her impressive 61 on Friday. But she couldn’t find that same momentum on Saturday, which opened the door for Albertse.
Yet he also struggled early on with two bogeys in his opening four holes. It was a key stretch of three birdies in five holes thereafter that gave him the lead. There was another bogey and two birdies on the back nine, but it was the eagle on the par-five 18th that finally gave him some breathing room at the top of the leaderboard.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better score to be honest. I didn’t play my best. I wasn’t in the right positions and just had to fight, but I’m really pleased to get away with a score like this,” said Albertse.
With a past Sunshine Tour season that saw him finish as one of the most consistent professionals on the Tour with a victory and nine top-10s, Albertse clearly had the experience to still carve out a lead despite not having his best game with him.
“It’s very tough and I feel like that’s a big part of this game, just like chipping and putting and anything else. It’s really about trying to stay in the moment. I was two over par at one stage and if you start thinking too far ahead it can get even worse, so I just tried to focus on the next shot.”
GolfRSA’s Ivan Verster is the leading amateur going into the final round on nine under par. – Michael Vlismas.
