It was a challenging day worthy of the Investec South African Open, and it was a day when two young South Africans rose to that challenge.
Jayden Schaper and Ryan van Velzen, two good friends who’ve come through the ranks of GolfRSA together and onto the Sunshine Tour, will head into Sunday’s final round of the Investec South African Open tied for the lead on nine under par.
On a day of intense heat, tough pin placements and a Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate playing extremely long, Schaper signed for a solid third round of five-under-par 67 and Van Velzen responded with a patient two-under-par 70.
The South Africans hold a one-stroke lead over countryman Louis de Jager, who posted a 70. But the leaderboard remains extremely tight, with Dean Burmester signing for a 65 that puts him in a dangerous group of challengers including Matteo Manassero and David Ravetto on seven under par. Burmester is chasing back-to-back victories following his win in last week’s Joburg Open.
But for two young South Africans who’ve been dreaming of this moment since their junior golf days together, Sunday is going to be a day to remember as they tee off in the final group together.
“I have some very good memories of this championship. Growing up and playing all the GolfRSA events and doing well in all of those, this is kind of the next one on the list. I had a strong amateur career with some good wins, and I’ve learnt a lot for this moment. Growing up you always want to win your national Open. I’ve had great experiences of it in the past from my first time playing in it as an amateur,” said Schaper.
It was a sentiment echoed by Van Velzen.
“I think it’s great. You know myself, Jayden and Casey (Jarvis) have all grown up together and been friends for a very long time. I think whatever happens tomorrow, we’ll celebrate together after the round,” said Van Velzen.
Both Schaper and Van Velzen did exceptionally well to work their way to the top of the leaderboard in a third round that surprised many in the field in terms of how tough the course played.
“Normally on moving day they put the pins in easier positions and move the tee boxes forward to create a few more birdies. But today was the opposite – they tucked the pins, the greens were firm, the tee boxes were back so it was just brutal out there,” said Schaper.
Van Velzen was equally pleased with how he handled the round.
“I think I played unbelievably well today. I played smart golf. I stayed very patient and was fine with making pars out there. I wasn’t going to chase birdies with those tough flags because that’s how bogeys are made. But it was a lot of fun out there with the crowd chanting my name,” he said.
Come Sunday afternoon, the crowds could well be chanting the name of a new young South African adding his own name to the greats on this prestigious trophy.
Scores:
207 - Jayden Schaper 70 70 67, Ryan Van Velzen 72 65 70
208 - Louis de Jager 67 71 70
209 - Dean Burmester 70 74 65, Francesco Laporta 69 71 69, Matti Schmid 70 68 71, David Ravetto 68 69 72, Matteo Manassero 68 68 73, Jesper Svensson 68 67 74
210 - Renato Paratore 69 71 70
211 - Jacques P de Villiers 69 71 71, Oliver Bekker 71 67 73
212 - Charl Schwartzel 72 70 70, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 68 74 70, Nick Bachem 75 66 71, Frederic Lacroix 69 68 75, Joakim Lagergren 65 71 76
213 - Aaron Cockerill 72 72 69, Alejandro Del Rey 70 74 69, Zander Lombard 71 73 69, Freddy Schott 74 69 70, Gavin Green 72 70 71, Kalle Samooja 69 73 71, Wilco Nienaber 72 70 71, Johannes Veerman 71 70 72, Heinrich Bruiners 68 73 72, Jovan Rebula 67 73 73, Deon Germishuys 69 71 73, Andy Sullivan 67 72 74, Romain Langasque 69 69 75, Casey Jarvis 66 70 77
214 - Dylan Naidoo 72 72 70, Jacques Kruyswijk 72 71 71, Marco Penge 75 68 71, Matthew Southgate 72 71 71, Jaco Van Zyl 71 72 71, Scott Jamieson 70 71 73, Jeong Weon Ko 72 68 74, Darren Fichardt 70 70 74, Darius van Driel 69 70 75
215 - Ugo Coussaud 69 75 71, Louis Albertse 69 74 72, Marcel Schneider 72 71 72, Sean Bradley 70 72 73, Kiradech Aphibarnrat 74 68 73, David Law 72 70 73, Martin Couvra 74 68 73, Dale Whitnell 74 67 74, Andrea Pavan 70 71 74, Dan Bradbury 71 70 74, Thriston Lawrence 70 71 74, Sebastian Friedrichsen 69 71 75, Ross Fisher 71 69 75, Hennie du Plessis 68 70 77
216 - Altin van der Merwe 72 71 73, Adrien Saddier 71 72 73, Will Enefer 68 75 73, Robin Williams 72 69 75, James Morrison 71 70 75, Hunter Epson 72 68 76
217 - Shubhankar Sharma 73 69 75, Ethan Smith 71 71 75
218 - Santiago Tarrio 75 69 74, Espen Kofstad 71 71 76
219 - Max Rottluff 73 71 75, Combrinck Smit 68 76 75, Luca Filippi 73 71 75, Jaco Ahlers 70 72 77
220 - Filippo Celli 72 72 76, Matthias Schwab 68 76 76
222 - Lorenzo Scalise 72 72 78
Missed the cut:-
145 - Thomas Aiken 71 74, Shaun Norris 77 68, Dylan Frittelli 72 73, Yurav Premlall 76 69, Rupert Kaminski 72 73, Dan Erickson 71 74, Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez 76 69, Kyle Barker 71 74, Kristian Krogh Johannessen 70 75, Clement Sordet 74 71, Andrew Johnston 77 68, Rourke van der Spuy 72 73
146 - Danie Van Niekerk 71 75, Edoardo Molinari 76 70, Jack Davidson 70 76, Samuel Simpson 76 70, Christiaan Maas 73 73, Benjamin Follett-Smith 71 75, Stefan Wears-Taylor 75 71
147 - Ashun Wu 74 73, Wynand Dingle 71 76, Anthony Michael 72 75, Jean Hugo 73 74, Albert Venter 75 72, Manuel Elvira 73 74, Aneurin Gounden 74 73
148 - Martin Vorster 74 74, Tristen Strydom 71 77, Pieter Moolman 73 75, Sam Bairstow 74 74, Lyle Rowe 70 78, Keenan Davidse 75 73, Gerhard Pepler 75 73, Bradley Bawden 71 77
149 - David Rowland Montague Amm 76 73, Jaco Prinsloo 77 72, Stuart Manley 76 73, Chase Hanna 73 76, Matthew Spacey 78 71
150 - Christo Lamprecht 76 74, Ewen Ferguson 77 73, Stephen Gallacher 77 73, Alexander Knappe 75 75, Adam Blomme 77 73, Thabang Simon 74 76, Trevor Fisher Jnr 75 75, Benjamin Rusch 73 77, Joel Girrbach 75 75
151 - Oliver Wilson 73 78, Jacques Blaauw 77 74, Jordan Burnand 80 71, Daniel van Tonder 71 80, Dylan Mostert 74 77, Hennie Otto 73 78, JC Ritchie 68 83, Martin Rohwer 72 79, Anton Karlsson 72 79, Mateusz Gradecki 77 74, Jake Redman 71 80, Merrick Bremner 81 70, Peter Karmis 75 76, MJ Viljoen 73 78, Daniel Bennett 72 79, LB Boshoff 74 77
152 - Ruan Korb 72 80, Neil Schietekat 71 81
153 - Nikhil Rama 73 80, Brandon Stone 75 78
154 - Malcolm Mitchell 75 79, Keagan Thomas 78 76, Ivan Cantero 76 78, Hennie O'Kennedy 74 80, Joachim B. Hansen 76 78, Keagan Crosbie 76 78, Christiaan Basson 79 75
155 - Ivan Verster 78 77
156 - Matthis Besard 75 81, James Hart du Preez 79 77
157 - Keelan van Wyk 74 83
158 - Robson Chinhoi 78 80
161 - Toto Thimba Jnr 77 84
162 - Slenda Sithebe 83 79
163 - Henning du Plooy 79 84, Tristin Galant 80 83
RTD - Daniel Brown RTD