Lawrence earns three-stroke lead going into Sunday’s final round at Joburg Open

Thriston Lawrence emerged from a torrid dogfight at the Houghton golf club course on Saturday to reclaim his spot at the top of the Joburg Open leader board.

The three-shot lead he takes into the final round today might suggest he controlled proceedings, but he battled in the trenches for his three-under-par 67, defending an advantage that shifted between one and two strokes for most of the round. 

He stretched it to three only on the par-four 15th and finished on 15 under overall. 

Dean Burmester fired 68 to claim second spot on his own, one stroke in front of Jacques Kruyswijk, who went around in 69 and overnight leader Nikhil Rama, who went two over. 

The key for Lawrence wasn’t just about nailing the birdies, which proved elusive because of pins positioned on or close to slopes — many contenders saw attempts lip out around the course. 

It was also in the way he ground his way out of trouble, like his impressive recovery on the par-four eighth. 

Lawrence went from butcher to surgeon as he transformed potential disaster into a regular par. 

He pulled his drive into the thick rough on the left.

His punch out needed to keep low under the overhanging branches of trees, but his shot lacked legs and got stuck in the rough. 

Then he duffed his chip with a lob wedge to just short of the green, still a distance from the flag.

Lawrence pulled out his sand iron and chipped again, this time boxing it. 

“The lie was almost too good with the first one and I tried to be a bit too cute instead of just trusting myself. So I just didn’t trust the shot and I came out of the shot,” said Lawrence, searching for his fifth DP World Tour victory.

“I obviously executed a nice chip-in too, just to keep the momentum of the round. 

A bogey, or worse, would have cost him the sole lead because behind him rivals were threatening to close the gap. 

Kruyswijk had just birdied the par-three ninth to move one shot behind Lawrence. 

Kruyswijk resurrected his round quickly after starting badly. A missed birdie putt on the first was followed by two straight bogeys, but he hit back with three consecutive birdies on four, five and six. 

He reached 13 under with a birdie three on 13, but two more bogeys, including an unlucky one on 18 after his approach shot hit the flag, left him a little frustrated. 

“It was nice to get it back together. I was a little bit nervous this morning and obviously it showed. I haven't been in this position for a while, so it's nice to be here and obviously to be in that position. But I need to improve, I need to get better, I need to be more in that position.” 

Kruyswijk was visibly irritated walking off the course, but he was trying to be philosophical.

“I can't be too angry, I hit a great shot in there [to 18]. 

“But nonetheless, I'm still in there, still got a shout. I love being behind, love chasing, so anything can happen tomorrow.” 

It would seem the only way Lawrence, the 2021 Joburg Open champion, can be derailed from winning a second crown is if one of his rivals goes low today. 

On Friday, Rama did that to take the lead from Lawrence, but yesterday he melted on the opening hole, scoring a double bogey after a four-putt. 

The first was the second-easiest par-four of the day. 

“The pressure got to me a little bit in the start, but it’s a learning experience and I’m just going to take what I learnt from today and use it tomorrow. 

“I’m happy with the way I fought back. The crowds got me going as well,” said the 22-year-old, whose biggest purse to date is the R127,000 he won at this tournament last year.

He needs less than R5,000 to top his first million after two years on the professional circuit. 

Rama also climbed to 13 under at one stage, but finished with two drops.