Tshwane Open 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Charl Schwartzel will take a one-shot lead into the final day of the Tshwane Open, as he posted a score of 66 on Day 3 to move to nine-under for the tournament.

Zander Lombard is the man in closest contention, having hit a brilliant seven-under par round of 63 on Saturday, leaving him one shot back on the leader. Haydn Porteous and Anthony Michael are tied for third position on six-under par.

Here’s a look at the leaderboard after another gripping day of golf and a recap of some of the highlights from the Pretoria Country Club, South Africa.

Rank	Player	Overall	Day 3 Score
1	Charl Schwartzel	-9	66
2	Zander Lombard	-8	63
T3	Haydn Porteous	-6	68
T3	Anthony Michael	-6	71
T5	Toby Tree	-4	65
T5	Dean Burmester	-4	68
T7	Nino Bertasio	-3	68
T7	James McLeary	-3	69
T7	Richard Sterne	-3	69
T10	George Coetzee	-2	68
T10	Jeff Winther	-2	69

Full leaderboard available on the European Tour's official website.

Schwartzel Leads the Way

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Toby Tree looked as though he was going to roar up to the summit of the leaderboard early on Day 3, as the Englishman put together a brilliant beginning to his round.

After a bogey at the second, Tree really found his form for the remainder of the front nine. As we can see courtesy of the European Tour Twitter, he went through the first half of his round in just 30 shots:

But despite notching another birdie and another eagle on the back nine, Tree will have been disappointed not to have pushed on. That’s because, for the third time in as many rounds, he dropped a shot at the 18th, this time shooting a double-bogey six.

Lombard put together an even better round, though. The South African showed exactly what can be achieved on “moving day” as he shot a scintillating seven-under par round of of 63 to propel himself into contention.

It was an effort that included a stunning spell between the sixth and the 12th hole, in which Lombard hit five birdies and one eagle. As noted here, it was the joint-best effort of any player at the tournament so far:

It gives him a great chance of winning as we gear up for the final day, although Schwartzel is looking increasingly like the man to beat in Pretoria.

On Friday, the former Masters champion was the standout player, shooting a superb 64. The South African, who is the highest ranked player in the field, started his third round in solid style, too, with a birdie at the second to move to six-under. Then at the ninth he produced this to go to eight-under and take a share of the lead:

He continued to impress in the latter stages of his round, finishing strongly to post 66. He will have been disappointed to have bogeyed the last, but it was an effort that leaves Schwartzel top of the pile as we approach the climax of the competition.

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Although the leader's 40-hole run without a blemish was ended at the 18th, he seems to be growing in confidence in Pretoria. Having played and won some of the biggest tournaments in the game, you’d have to back Schwartzel to hold his nerve on what’s likely to be an absorbing Day 4 too.

However, as the likes of Lombard and Tree proved on Saturday, there are very low scores to be had on this course. If someone in the top 20 can put together a round like the duo aforementioned under pressure on Sunday, then it could well be good enough to take the title.