Herman Loubser retained his place at the top of the Mopani Zambia Open leaderboard with another solid performance in Saturday’s third round at the Nkana Golf Club.
A bogey-free 68 lifted Loubser to 14 under par overall and five strokes clear of his nearest challenger and fellow South African Hennie Otto.
With two birdies on the front nine followed up by two more on the back nine, Loubser produced another composed round of golf to keep the lead.
Herman Loubser makes a miraculous par save on the par 3, 15th hole today.😳👏#MopaniZambiaOpen #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/NA2MYG7Jpg
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) June 7, 2025
“It’s been good and solid. I’ve played nicely and made a lot of par putts that kept the momentum going. The greens are tricky, but I have been good with my short game and I’ve hit the ball quite nice,” Loubser said.
With an impressive five-stroke lead heading into the final day, Loubser is exited about the challenge lying ahead.
“I just need to do the same thing tomorrow, that is the game plan. Hopefully the putting and chipping stays good. Obviously, there will be a few nerves, but it is quite exiting. There will be a lot of the guys out there tomorrow trying to win. I am keen for the challenge,” he said.
After Otto, young Sunshine Tour professional Ethan Smith starts the final round six strokes back after signing for a round of six-under-par of 66.
SCORES
202 - Herman Loubser 67 67 68
207 - Hennie Otto 67 71 69
208 - Ethan Smith 71 71 66, Samuel Simpson 72 65 71
209 - Xander Basson 74 67 68, Lyle Rowe 71 70 68
210 - Jacques Blaauw 73 66 71
211 - Robson Chinhoi 76 70 65, Ruan Korb 74 71 66, Altin van der Merwe 76 68 67, Ryan van der Klis 73 69 69, JJ Senekal 70 71 70, Luke Jerling 70 68 73
212 - Martin Vorster 73 70 69, Keegan Mclachlan 72 69 71, Fredrik From 68 72 72, Warwick Purchase 69 70 73
213 - Jaco Prinsloo 76 69 68, Simon du Plooy 71 72 70, Wynand Dingle 72 71 70, Neil Schietekat 72 69 72, Luke Brown 74 66 73, MJ Viljoen 68 70 75
214 - Christiaan Burke 72 74 68, Carter Rowe 73 72 69, Ruan Conradie 73 72 69, Kyle De Beer 72 71 71, Benjamin Van Wyk 72 70 72, Jacques P de Villiers 69 73 72, Heinrich Bruiners 72 69 73
215 - Gerhard Pepler 75 72 68, Kyle McClatchie 72 74 69, Dayne Moore 72 71 72, Matthew Spacey 71 67 77
216 - Stephen Ferreira 73 74 69, CJ du Plessis 76 71 69, Jason Roets 73 72 71, Daniel van Tonder 75 70 71, Jack Hawksby 73 72 71, Rourke van der Spuy 72 73 71, Daniel Cronje 74 69 73, Stefan Wears-Taylor 74 67 75, Aaron Simfukwe Jnr 70 71 75, Liam Grehan 75 66 75, Graham van der Merwe 73 67 76
217 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 74 71 72, Louis Albertse 71 74 72, Austin Bautista 72 72 73, Martin Rohwer 74 70 73, Stals Swart 72 70 75, Quintin Wilsnach 70 68 79
218 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 73 74 71
219 - Jordan Duminy 72 75 72, Keagan Thomas 74 73 72, Stuart Krog 71 75 73, Tomas Gana 69 76 74, Jake Redman 74 68 77
220 - Thomas Spreadborough 74 71 75, Danie Van Niekerk 75 68 77
221 - Michael Chuma 76 70 75, Pierre Viallaneix 71 73 77
222 - Jordan Burnand 73 74 75
223 - Franklin Manchest 69 77 77, Paul Boshoff 71 74 78
224 - Tristen Strydom 74 73 77
Missed the cut:
148 - Rowan Lester 72 76, Rupert Kaminski 75 73, Ricky Hendler 74 74, Hayden Griffiths 76 72, James Mack 73 75, Luca Filippi 72 76
149 - Toto Thimba Jnr 80 69, Francois van Staden 75 74, Robert Mofya 76 73, Gabriel Chibale 75 74, Wallie Coetsee 74 75, Hennie O'Kennedy 78 71
150 - Dylan Mostert 75 75, Pierre Pellegrin 73 77
151 - Sydney Joseph Wemba 73 78, Tyran Snyders 78 73, Hunter Epson 73 78, Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 75 76
152 - Rhys West 79 73, Johan Theron 75 77, Conner Mackenzie 78 74, Madalitso Muthiya 78 74, Christopher Long 78 74, Stalion Daka 77 75, Keanu Pestana 78 74
153 - Innocent Chalwe 79 74, Patrick Mwendapole Snr 78 75, Dezzie Ngandu 77 76, Promise Sombreiro 80 73, Nyasha Muyambo 77 76
154 - Joe Nawanga 80 74, Dominic Musonda 77 77, Christian Kriek 75 79, Albert Venter 77 77, Joe Knox 74 80, Jacquin Hess 78 76, Simon Lumbwe 76 78, Keegan Shutt 74 80
155 - Adrian Andrade 75 80, Morton Muwowo 76 79, Kelly Tembo 77 78
156 - Raphael Phiri 80 76, Thabang Simon 77 79, Paul Adam Chidale 83 73, Otto Van Buynder 75 81, Boyd Kapalamoto 79 77
157 - Conrad Makoto 82 75, Marcus Sandile Taylor 78 79, Zachary Chegwidden 82 75
158 - Gilbert Chalwe 82 76, Tatenda Makunde 79 79
159 - Ntengwa Mukosa 83 76, Tyron Davidowitz 77 82, Werner Deyzel 80 79
160 - Kyle Barker 81 79
161 - Tanaka Chatora 86 75
165 - Musambo Kapoma JNR 90 75
167 - Kelvin Wemba 81 86
168 - Teleka Chundama 81 87
171 - Joseph Malembe 89 82
174 - Aaron Musonda 88 86
179 - Thomo Mokgatle 93 86