Scotland’s Connor Syme and England’s Daniel Brown will take a two-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the SDC Championship at St Francis Links, with Robin Williams leading the lone South African challenge two strokes off the lead.
On another day when the wind made for a few extra conversations between player and caddie, Syme controlled his ball flight superbly as he signed for a third round of 67.
Alongside him, Brown went into the round with a three-stroke lead and birdied the first to suggest it was going to be all his day. But two bogeys on the front nine and then a difficult stretch of three bogeys in four holes from the turn brought him back to the field. He fought back with three birdies thereafter for a solid 72. They both lead on 11 under par.
Syme summed up just how difficult the changing winds here are when he said, “It’s like playing a different golf course entirely”.
Yet he managed it superbly as he put himself in a position to finally claim a DP World Tour victory after coming close several times. It was a round in which he also won himself a four-night MSC luxury cruise as part of the Sunshine Tour’s Beat the Pro competition, offering amateurs the chance to see if they can hit it closer to the pros in their group on the par-three 15th. With no amateur able to do so, Syme earned the prize as the closest pro on the hole.
“I putted really nicely today. It’s always tricky in the breeze to judge your pace but I did that well today. It was also all about controlling your ball flight and you’ve got to shape your ball both ways around here. I’m really happy with how I did that today.”
Syme, who finished in the top 20 in this event last year, said he’s under no illusions as to the challenge that awaits on Sunday.
“The conditions are so tricky and there are so many great golfers here that it’s going to be tight until the finish on Sunday. But I was here last year and earmarked it as having another go at it this year. It’s a very similar links challenge to back home in Scotland. I’m taking it as it comes and looking forward to the challenge.”
England’s Andy Sullivan, American James Nicholas and South Africa’s Williams are their nearest challengers on nine under par. Williams had worked himself to within one shot of the lead before a bogey at the last.
SCORES:
205 - Connor Syme 67 71 67, Daniel Brown 66 67 72
207 - Andy Sullivan 70 71 66, James Nicholas 68 69 70, Robin Williams 69 67 71
208 - David Ravetto 70 70 68, Jordan Gumberg 68 69 71
209 - Nick Bachem 67 71 71
210 - Adri Arnaus 73 71 66, Marcus Armitage 71 69 70, Francesco Laporta 68 71 71, Tom McKibbin 69 70 71, Jbe' Kruger 69 69 72
211 - Ugo Coussaud 68 72 71
212 - Thomas Aiken 71 71 70, Casey Jarvis 71 70 71, Jamie Donaldson 70 71 71
213 - Julien Brun 71 71 71, Haydn Barron 70 72 71, Louis de Jager 70 70 73, Malcolm Mitchell 67 72 74
Michael Vlismas Media