By Ken Borland
GEORGE, South Africa Jan 21 (Reuters) – Belgium’s
Nicolas Colsaerts shot a four-under-par 69 on Saturday to again
find himself at the top of the leaderboard after the third round
of the Volvo Golf Champions at the Fancourt Links.
Colsaerts fired a course-record 64 in the first round of the
two million euro event to grab a four-shot lead, but then
struggled to a 76 in the second round to slip six shots behind
South African Branden Grace.
But on a day on which only 10 of the 35 golfers were under-
par, Colsaerts’s impressive third round, capped by an
eagle-three on the 18th, vaulted him back into a tie for first
place with Grace on 10-under.
Grace shot a two-over-par 75 in the tricky weather
conditions, marked by a blustery wind and steady rain for most
of the day. Compatriots Retief Goosen (70) and Charl
Schwartzel(68) ended on nine-under-par, one ahead of European
Ryder Cup captain Jose-Maria Olazabal (72).
Masters champion Schwartzel made the biggest move. He eagled
the par-five ninth to go out in just 32 strokes, but his hot
run petered out on the back nine which he completed in
one-under-par.
The long-hitting Colsaerts capitalised on some daring drives
down the tight fairways as he shrugged off a bogey on
the first hole with birdies on the fourth, sixth and ninth. He
was level-par on the back nine before his spectacular eagle on
the 502-metre last hole.
“I hit an enormous drive on 18, leaving me 190 to the flag,
and then hit an eight-iron on to the green. It was nice to make
that putt after a drive like that,” Colsaerts told reporters.
“The last few holes suit my long-driving skills so I go with
my strengths. If I hit a good one, I can get half-a-shot on the
field and that’s quite an advantage,” he said.
The scorecards of most of the golfers were filled with
dropped shots and there were two quadruple-bogeys — by Spain’s
Pablo Martin, who shot a 17-over-par 90, and Briton Kenneth
Ferrie (80).
Schwartzel said: “The first two days were pretty easy
because we weren’t hitting long clubs into the greens. But today
was a lot tougher out there, the wind and misty rain made it
difficult. I was hitting four-irons into the wind where normally
I’d be hitting a seven-iron.”
(Editing by Dave Thompson. To comment on this story email
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