With the sun breaking through the clouds after two days of rain interruptions, Casey Jarvis made his intentions clear with a stunning 63 to earn him the lead in The Hyundai Open at the Ebotse Links.
Jarvis closed off the second round, which had been suspended because of the weather, at the top of the leaderboard on 14 under par on Saturday, one stroke clear of Nikhil Rama, who signed for a 64. Warwick Purchase was two shots off the lead following a 65.
And then, as the third round teed off, Jarvis birdied the first to climb to 15 under par before darkness brought an end to play. Rama is now two shots adrift and still on 13 under following a par at the first. And Purchase also parred his first hole to remain on 12 under par.
The final round will be played directly after the completion of the third round on Sunday.
Jarvis put himself in a strong position with his 63, which included a front nine of 29 and only one bogey overall.
“I played solid golf and hit some good shots. I unfortunately got punished at the 11th hole with that bogey, but I can’t dwell too long on the negatives. I’ve hit the ball really nicely today, so there are lots of positives heading into the third round,” he said.
Jarvis is still searching for a maiden victory on the Sunshine Tour after four second-place finishes to date. He won on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2013.
“It’s tough to win out here, but I will just try and stay patient tomorrow and see what I can do,” Jarvis said after he completed just one hole in his third round.
SCORES (INCOMPLETE ROUND)
-15 - Casey Jarvis 67 63 (-1) [1]
-13 - Nikhil Rama 67 64 (Par) [1]
-12 - Warwick Purchase 67 65 (Par) [1]
-11 - Haydn Porteous 64 70 (-1) [2]
-10 - Tristen Strydom 66 68 (Par) [3], JC Ritchie 67 67 (Par) [2], Ryan Van Velzen 67 67 (Par) [2]
-9 - Austin Bautista 69 68 (-2) [6], Pieter Moolman 67 70 (-2) [5], MJ Viljoen 70 67 (-2) [5], Anthony Michael 71 64 (Par) [3], Rowan Lester 66 69 (Par) [3]
-8 - Benjamin Van Wyk 73 65 (-2) [7], Peter Karmis 69 69 (-2) [7], Bryce Easton 69 68 (-1) [6], Jacques P de Villiers 67 70 (-1) [6], Xander Basson 68 69 (-1) [6], Keenan Davidse 68 69 (-1) [6], Jean Hugo 68 70 (-2) [5], JJ Senekal 71 65 (Par) [4], Kieron van Wyk 68 68 (Par) [4], Pierre Viallaneix 70 66 (Par) [4], Luis Carrera 68 68 (Par) [4]
-7 - Keagan Thomas 69 69 (-1) [6], CJ du Plessis 74 65 (-2) [4], Keegan Mclachlan 70 66 (+1) [4], Altin van der Merwe 68 68 (+1) [4]
-6 - Samuel Simpson 68 69 (+1) [6], Therion Nel 69 69 (Par) [6], Karabo Mokoena 68 69 (+1) [6], Luke Jerling 72 67 (-1) [5], Gregory Mckay 70 67 (+1) [5], Herman Loubser 69 70 (-1) [5]
-5 - Luke Brown 68 70 (+1) [7], Ruan Korb 67 71 (+1) [5], Ricky Hendler 69 70 (Par) [5], Ruan Conradie 73 66 (Par) [4], Hennie Otto 69 70 (Par) [3], Deon Germishuys 73 66 (Par) [3], Gerhard Pepler 67 73 (-1) [3], Daniel Cronje 66 74 (-1) [2], Kyle De Beer 71 69 (-1) [2], Ulrich van den Berg 72 68 (-1) [2]
-4 - Malcolm Mitchell 70 68 (+2) [7], Ryan van der Klis 70 68 (+2) [6], David Amm 68 71 (+1) [4], Keelan van Wyk 72 67 (+1) [4], Jonathan Broomhead 67 73 (Par) [3], Daniel van Tonder 70 70 (Par) [3], Christiaan Burke 70 70 (Par) [2], Rourke van der Spuy 74 66 (Par) [2]
-3 - Stuart Krog 71 69 (+1) [3], Jason Roets 69 71 (+1) [2]