Wilson leads South African Open

2007-12-15

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By Thahir Asmal Special to PA SportsTicker

PAARL, South Africa (Ticker) -- Oliver Wilson holds a one-shot lead after Saturday's third round of the South African Open.

Wilson shot a 5-under-par 67, moving to 4-under 212 through 54 holes.

The Englishman was on form as he carded five birdies in a bogey-free round to set himself up nicely for the final day at the Pearl Valley Golf Estates. He is a stroke ahead of James Kingston, who was in front after the second round.

There are likely to be several challengers on the final day though after much calmer weather in Paarl led to over 20 players shooting under par, compared to the first two days that left only three competitors under par for the tournament.

One of those players was third-placed Garth Mulroy, who carded a course-record 64 to stay at 2-under, one shot better than fellow South Africans Ulrich van den Berg and Nic Henning.

The big names to stay in the frame were Australia's Greg Norman, who shot an even 72 to move to 1-over overall. Two-time winner Retief Goosen (70) is at 2-over.

Two late bogeys left Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke a shot back at 3-over, while defending champion Ernie Els all but ended his interest with a 77 for an overall score of 8-over.

However, it was 27-year-old Wilson who gave himself the best chance of a first career win with his outstanding round.

"I'm very happy with my round," Wilson said. "I am actually quite pleased with how the week's going on, it's getting a little better each day and hopefully it carries on like that.

"I was struggling with my swing a little bit but I think the wind's kind of helped. My short game's been really solid this week."

Wilson knew what the key was Saturday.

"I managed to get of to a good start today, especially on this course if you get one under early, it tends to relax you a little more and there's a few key holes out there and if you can get through those without many mistakes, you can actually make some good scores, which I managed to do," he said.

"I played all the key holes really well today and hopefully I can do it again tomorrow."

Kingston, who signed for a 71, is not bothered by having to come from behind.

"I'm chasing and I already feel comfortable starting from behind," he said. "I played nice and solid today after a not so good start.

"I pulled it back together and kept myself in contention all day. It was a tough day and to me it was the toughest round of the tournament. But now I'm one shot behind and I'm looking forward to it. I feel I can be a little more aggressive and there is really a lot to play for."