Matteo Manassero held his nerve and the lead on another low-scoring day at the Jonsson Workwear Open and will head into Sunday’s final round chasing his first DP World Tour title in 11 years Matteo Manassero held his nerve and the lead on another low-scoring day at the Jonsson Workwear Open and will head into Sunday’s final round chasing his first DP World Tour title in 11 years. Photo: Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour
Matteo Manassero held his nerve and the lead on another low-scoring day at the Jonsson Workwear Open and will head into Sunday’s final round chasing his first DP World Tour title in 11 years.
The Italian signed for a third round of 67 that was briefly interrupted by a weather delay and heads the field on 20 under par.
His nearest challengers are South Africa’s Shaun Norris and England’s Jordan Smith on 19 under par following their respective rounds of 65 in this Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
And the leaderboard remains tight thereafter with South Africa’s Oliver Bekker and Spain’s Angel Hidalgo just two shots behind Manassero.
Manassero did a superb job of keeping his emotions in check following his stunning 61 on Friday, and even after a bogey at the third he showed the hard mental work he has done to go from golf prodigy early in his career and then battle through a long slump to get to this moment again.
“It was good today. I hit a bad shot on three but it’s never easy in the beginning of the round. This course requires a lot of precision off the tee. After that bogey I did my things right and it was one of those days I allowed myself to get into the rhythm and started playing better as the round went on,” he said.
Manassero is of course keenly aware of what a story his victory on Sunday would represent in golf, but is doing his utmost to focus on the present.
“It would mean a lot to win. But it is already a nice journey up to today. We’ll think about tomorrow tomorrow. It’s really difficult to close tournaments out and win. I’m in a position I’m really happy to be in and all I can do is not force anything or feel like I must do something tomorrow. I’ll just be myself and play golf. I’m sure of the things I do, and you never know what golf will bring you. There are a lot of things not under my control that will happen tomorrow so I’ll just play my game,” he said.
Just one shot behind him, Norris leads the South African challenge. He had a putt on the final green when the siren sounded for the weather delay. Unfortunately he returned to make bogey, but he isn’t letting that distract him from the challenge of Sunday.
“A delay will always have an impact, but it happens. Overall I’m pleased with the day and where I am. I’m hitting the ball well and putting well. Patience will be key on Sunday. If I can go out there and give myself maybe 15-20 foot chances on every hole I’ve got a good opportunity,” said Norris.
SCORES:
196 - Matteo Manassero 68 61 67
197 - Jordan Smith 66 66 65, Shaun Norris 66 66 65
198 - Angel Hidalgo 67 64 67, Oliver Bekker 65 65 68
199 - Ivan Cantero 64 67 68
200 - Jacques Kruyswijk 66 68 66, Tom McKibbin 67 64 69
201 - Guxin Chen 71 64 66, Connor Syme 68 67 66
202 - Andrea Pavan 68 67 67, Thriston Lawrence 65 70 67, Casey Jarvis 67 66 69
203 - Clement Sordet 69 68 66, Thomas Aiken 69 67 67
204 - Andy Sullivan 70 67 67, JC Ritchie 69 68 67, Matthias Schwab 69 68 67, Paul Waring 67 70 67, Alexander Levy 67 69 68, Ewen Ferguson 70 65 69, Louis de Jager 65 69 70, Jason Scrivener 68 66 70, Niklas Norgaard 67 66 71
Michael Vlismas Media
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