Jaco van Zyl was imperturbable as he established a three stroke lead after the third round of the Investec Cup.
His three under par 69 was enough to keep Garth Mulroy, who carded a 67, and Justin Walters, who signed for 68, in his wake as he seemed set to sail serenely to a second title in two weeks after his Telkom PGA Championship victory last week.
“In this game you’ve got to take the good with the bad,” he said, “and if your approach is good about it then the result won’t be that bad.
“And I had a couple of really wayward tee shots on the first couple of holes and I managed to make par from there. I guess I’ll try and hit a little straighter tomorrow,” he added.
Mulroy and Walters can be forgiven if they feel the chase in the final round will be a little quixotic, but they both rallied on a scorching day on the Lost City Golf Course.
Walters started the third round four back of Van Zyl, and cut one stroke from that lead. “It’s very rare when Jaco van Zyl is involved,” he said. “Every time you think he may do something to help you out a little bit, it doesn’t happen. He doesn’t make many mistakes, and he gets up and down when he does, so he really forces you to make the move.”
Examples of Van Zyl’s ability to bounce back came on the fifth where he pulled his tee shot into thick rough in a lateral hazard. His recovery was played over the green, but his chip to the pin was exquisite and he had a tap-in putt for par.
On the par five 18th, he found himself with a downhill lie in a greenside trap after his second. He kept the ball on the grass, just short of the water with his third, left his chip a little short, but made the pressure two footer for par.
