GEORGE (Western Cape) – Oliver Bekker has clearly felt comfortable in his hometown this week and is looking very much at home at the top of the leaderboard as he takes a five-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Dimension Data Pro-Am at Fancourt.
A 64 on the Outeniqua course on Saturday lifted Bekker to 18 under par overall and on track to add to his 2012 victory in this Sunshine Tour and European Challenge Tour event.
The South African’s nearest challenger is countryman Luke Jerling on 13 under par following his 71 on the Montagu course.
Bekker, now a DP World Tour campaigner, decided to return to the Sunshine Tour this week to enjoy the privilege of playing a tournament where he can sleep in his own bed and have his family with him.
“You don’t get to do that too often. It’s great to have that family time, and I also have a lot of local support here. It’s a special event for me,” said Bekker.
Bekker took full advantage of another perfect day in George and an Outeniqua golf course that is the most forgiving of the three courses here at Fancourt used for this tournament.
“Outeniqua is a very scoreable golf course and it was nice to do just that. I played well and it was nice to hole a few putts on the back nine. I gave myself a lot of opportunities. All in all it was a very good day. I knew my golf was good and that if I could get a few putts in today I would get a low one.”
Bekker was most pleased with being able to make his move on the weekend after he’d worked his way into a competitive position over the first two rounds.
“I feel like my game has been moving this way. In the last few weeks I’ve been making good starts and then over the weekend I’ve let it slip, so it’s nice to produce a good round on the Saturday and move in the right direction. I’ve always enjoyed playing Fancourt and I always fancy myself to do well in this event.” – Michael Vlismas
