Andrew McLardy gave absolutely everything, including his three iron, to the cause of leading the third round of the Telkom PGA Championship at Country Club Johannesburg on Saturday.
The European Tour campaigner battled through a snapped club, a course-record 62 from Richard Sterne and a back nine of 29 from Marc Cayeux to retain his lead, finishing with a 64 and on 21 under par.
”Whew! That was a lot of fun,” McLardy said after a thrilling round.
But his one-shot cushion was thanks to a courageous finish.
McLardy started the day with a one-stroke lead. But Sterne, hunting his second victory in as many weeks on the Sunshine Tour, came with a tremendous charge that yielded a course-record 62 and lifted him to 20 under par. Sterne chipped in for eagle on 16 and then went for a pin cut right against the water on the par-four 17th and made birdie there to tie McLardy on 20 under par.
Sterne then came up inches short of a birdie putt on 18.
Behind him, McLardy pulled his drive on the par-five 16th into the trees and was right up against a pine tree. He took a full swing at it with his three iron, which snapped on the follow-through. But the gamble paid off as it left him with a 65m pitch, from where he went on to make a crucial birdie.
”I knew the club would break. But I needed a full swing to clear all the bunkers in front of the green,” said McLardy.
He parred his way through the difficult 17th and then birdied the 18th for the outright lead.
”I must admit, if I’d stayed at 19 under or even dropped to 18 under, it wouldn’t have worried me too much. I just wanted to stay around the lead. But sure, you’d think a 64 would be good enough for at least a four-stroke lead.”
Sterne is relishing being in contention for the second week in succession, which on both occasions has seen him make a strong run at the lead with an aggressive brand of golf.
”My swing doesn’t feel all that great, but I suppose if you shoot 62, then you’re doing something right,” he said. ”It’s all just happening at the moment. Hopefully it lasts a little longer. I just want to enjoy it.”
But with the Woodmead Course yielding this kind of scoring at the moment, several players still find themselves in contention for the title.
Zimbabwean Cayeux is currently third on 18 under thanks to a 65 that included a back nine of 29 and a finish of five birdies in his final five holes. Cayeux is capable of incredibly low scoring here, as he proved when he shot 61 in the final round of the Vodacom Tour Championship in 2004 to win that event.
”I’d say 29 on a nine for Marc is pretty average,” McLardy said tongue-in-cheek.
And with Bradford Vaughan at 16 under, Darren Fichardt and Louis Oosthuizen at 15 under and even Order of Merit leader Charl Schwartzel at 13 under, it may just take a 62 to actually win the tournament. — Sapa