Kruyswijk surges to solo lead at Euphoria

A combination of some solid golf and knowledge of the golf course helped Jacques Kruyswijk to a two-stroke lead in the Limpopo Championship following a three-under-par 69 third round, which took his total to 16-under, at Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate.

Kruyswijk grew up in this region of the country and for a number of years, called Euphoria and Koro Creek Bushveld and Golf Estate, his home courses. Coming into the third round co-leading by two shots at 13-under-par, the long-hitting Kruyswijk knew he had it all to do on day three if he was to keep his spot at the top of the leaderboard.

Back-to-back pars on the first two holes settled him down and then a birdie went into his card on the third. From there, Kruyswijk made a birdie on every other hole as he turned in 32 and bogey-free. Scoring proved difficult in round three with the wind, especially on the back nine, gusting all over the place, making it tough for even the very best golfer out there to put together a decent score there.

“It was difficult out there today,” said the 28-year old Kruyswijk who plays out of Centurion Country Club. “The wind picked up quite a lot especially on the back nine. There were a couple of tough flags which made it difficult for scoring. But I just kept a cool head even on the back nine, that wasn’t y best back nine ever but the front nine covered for that.”

He made eight pars and a bogey on that homeward stretch, but he was, overall, pleased with his work up to this point of the competition.

“I’m pleased because of the work I’ve done leading up to this tournament,” he said of his recent resurgence after a disappointing season in Europe. “This is where I should be. I keep on saying this, this is where I should be every single week. I should be contending to win tournaments every week and I’m just excited to tee it up tomorrow and see what happens.”

He will have to be very sharp in the final round because the defending JC Ritchie and Louis de Jager are only two shots off the pace and any slip-ups at any stage of the round might prove costly.

Ritchie’s 67 was the best score of the day while De Jager carded a 71 to total 14-under. The final round of this championship, much like the third, will be streamed live on the Sunshine Tour Facebook and YouTube channels.