Pretoria: Cyril Suk fired back-to-back 68s to stay in the mix along with fellow Mena Tour member Matias Calderon heading into the final round of The Roar — the third and final Mena/Sunshine Big Easy Tour co-sanctioned event — at Waterkloof Golf Club, on Wednesday.
Teeing off at the 10th, the Czech picked up five birdies in a seven-hole stretch to join Chile’s Calderon, who returned a 69, for a share of fifth on eight under, two shots adrift of England’s Jeff Inglis, who signed for a sparkling 65, to top the leaderboard.
The South African trio of Daniel Hammond, Danie Van Niekerk and JJ Senekal were tied for second on nine under as just thee shots separated the top 11, promising an absorbing finish coming down the stretch on Thursday.
Suk, who won the Mena Tour’s Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open in 2014, sounded confident of going the full distance.
“My irons are working pretty well and that has given me an edge, especially on the front nine. I am playing quite well and, hopefully, the final day of the Mena’s South Africa swing will be a memorable one for me,” he said.
Elsewhere, English duo Jordan Garnish and Jamie Elson moved into a five-way tie for 12th on six under, two clear of Sweden’s Henric Sturehed and three ahead of Fredrik From and Craig Kieswetter.
South Africa’s Karabo Mokoena carded a 73 to lead the amateur division on three under as India’s Dubai-based prodigy Arkesh Bhatia returned a 75 to settle for third in the division on one over.
