South Africa’s Dylan Naidoo is chasing a maiden DP World Tour victory as he heads into Sunday’s final round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open tied for the lead with Eddie Pepperell, and each with something different to prove at Mont Choisy Le Golf in their final tournament of the year.
At the end of a difficult day of wind and firm greens, Naidoo posted a brilliant 66 during which he surged through the field with six birdies in his opening seven holes, finishing on 11 under par.
England’s Pepperell maintained his place at the top of the leaderboard with a round of 69.
They are both one stroke ahead of Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, who signed for a third round of 69. And South Africa’s Jovan Rebula worked himself into contention on nine under par with a 67 on Saturday.
Naidoo, a winner on the Sunshine Tour, has never been in this position before in a DP World Tour event and will be looking to prove to himself that he belongs at this level of the game.
“I’m excited to be in this position,” he said. “I’ve been there and thereabouts on the Sunshine Tour before, but I’ve never been in this position. I’ll take it all in and play as well against myself as I can in the final round.”
Naidoo’s front nine was outstanding, but he admitted he did struggle on a back nine which ended with a frustrating bogey on the last.
“I had to find the competitor inside myself at times and make a couple of 12 footers to save par,” he said. “As good as the front nine was, that’s as much of a grind as the back nine was. But I’m happy with the result.”
The experienced Pepperell will head into Sunday’s final round looking to reclaim his place on the DP World Tour with a victory here after losing his playing privileges last season. He’s also hunting his first win since 2018.
“I think three under was a good round,” he said. “I didn’t think it was easy at all. I felt like I hit the ball well off the tee today which you needed to do with the crosswinds. But I didn’t feel great with my irons, to be honest. I didn’t hole a lot of putts but did hole a couple towards the end, which is pleasing for the final round.”
“I think I can get around here in five under par, and in windy conditions that could be enough. I would like to see my irons a bit more where I want them though.”
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Photo: Sunshine Tour
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