Ken Borland

Richard Sterne and Trevor Fisher Jnr were able to maintain their lead in the Joburg Open after the third round of the co-sanctioned Sunshine and European Tour event at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Saturday.

Sterne and Fisher both shot four-under-par 68s on the East Course to head into Sunday’s final round on 19-under-par, five strokes ahead of the chasing pack which comprised the 2010 and 2011 champion, Charl Schwartzel, fellow South Africans Jaco van Zyl and George Coetzee, and Chilean Felipe Aguilar.

Sterne, the 2008 Joburg Open champion, was once again the model of consistency, making just one bogey, his five on the 15th being his first dropped shot in 51 holes.

Fisher, who won the award for the Sunshine Tour’s Players’ Player of the Year earlier this week, is yet to win a European Tour event, but he recovered well from successive bogeys at Royal Joburg’s famous par-four 10th and 11th holes, both of which are longer than 450 metres.

2011 Masters champion Schwartzel, the highest ranked player in the field at 18th in the world, produced a faultless round with four birdies, but was not at his best, particularly with the putter.

“My game is not bad, but it can be a lot better. A bunch of putts didn’t go in, so I hope that clicks tomorrow and if I can go out and get to twenty-something under, then I’ll have a chance,” Schwartzel said.

Sterne finished second in last week’s Dubai Desert Classic, so the 31-year-old will be looking to go one better on Sunday.

“Playing in the final group two weeks in a row is draining to be honest, but I’d rather have that experience than not,” Sterne said.

Fisher said “staying in the present” is what had steadied him after his wobble on the 10th and 11th holes and he then hit his tee-shot on the par-three 12th to six feet for birdie and then sank a lengthy putt on 13 to pick up another stroke.

“I wasn’t playing my best shots out there, I was a bit jumpy on my swing and not feeling so good, but if you putt well, that’s what matters,” Fisher said.

The consistent Coetzee once again found himself in the top three heading into the final round of a European Tour event, even though he had to overcome a shaky putter. Three successive birdies to end his round saw him leap back up the leaderboard and no doubt did his confidence a world of good heading into the final round.

Van Zyl eagled the par-five first hole and did enough thereafter to shoot a 67 and climb into a share of third, while a birdie on the 18th allowed Aguilar to sign for a 68 and join that group.

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Trevor Fisher Junior may not even have a European Tour card, but by the time the 33-year-old had bished, bashed, boshed his way around the East and West Courses of Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, he had soared into the Joburg Open lead on 15-under-par after two rounds.

It was a superb performance by Fisher, who may have seven Sunshine Tour wins but has only one top-three finish – in last year’s Joburg Open – in events co-sanctioned with the European Tour.

Richard Sterne, the 2008 Joburg Open champion, shot a 65 on the tougher East Course later in the day for a share of the lead, with other seasoned European Tour campaigners in George Coetzee and Charl Schwartzel lurking ominously on 12-under and 10-under respectively.

But for Fisher, the Joburg Open represents a chance for him to take the next step in a career that has only really taken off in the last two years. A member of the Sunshine Tour since 2002, the Modderfontein Golf Club member broke into the top 20 on the order of merit for the first time in 2008, breaking into the top 10 in 2011 and finishing fourth in 2012, an achievement which won him the Players’ Player of the Year award earlier this week.

“I think it’s maturity. I’m a late bloomer and I’ve played better as I’ve got older and the last three or four years have been good for me. But I need to get to the next level now. I’ve been here for 10 years and it’s been a good stepping stone to the European Tour, but I’ve stepped on a lot of stones now and it’s time to get to the top,” Fisher said after his fabulous 62 on the West Course on Friday.

Fisher made use of another fast start to settle the nerves and set him on his way. Having birdied the first three holes on the East Course in the first round, on his way to a 66, he eagled the West Course’s second hole on Friday and followed up with a birdie on the third. By way of change, he birdied the last three holes on Friday as well.

“I think you have to feed off those nerves, they’re always there. It was a great day out there. Everything just happened for me and I sank the putts I needed to sink. I was patient with myself, I walked slow and did everything slow, and it was just a good day,” Fisher said.

“You’ve got to be in the moment, you can’t think about your score … I think that’s the secret to scoring low around here: not trying to make birdies, but trying to hit good shots,” Fisher added.

Sterne, who has not dropped a shot in 36 holes, is clearly in superb form having finished in second place in last week’s Dubai Desert Classic, but he is still playing cautious golf.

“I was quite conservative, you have to be on this course, and my game didn’t feel great but I putted well and had a couple of good up-and-downs,” Sterne said.

Coetzee, who has finished in the top three seven times in the last two years on the European Tour, is in third place midway through the Joburg Open, having shot an inspired 64 on the East Course on Friday.

With his failure to grab the breakthrough win he surely deserves becoming something of a topic for discussion amongst the media, Coetzee said he was also just trying to stay in the moment and would be happy to finish in the top 10.

“I try not to think about the win. Every now and then it will pop up and you have to get back into the zone, into the now. I tell myself that I want to finish top 10 instead, and that normally calms me down.  If the win comes I’ll be happy, but if it doesn’t, as long as I’m playing well, I’ll be happy,” Coetzee said.

Schwartzel was the other golfer to storm up the leaderboard on Friday, shooting a 65 on the West Course to climb from a tie for 25^th into a share of fourth with fellow South African Keith Horne and Chile’s Felipe Aguilar.

Schwartzel may have shot six-under-par on the day, but he admitted that he had battled to govern his frustrations, particularly with his putter.

“My putter was the problem, I’ve missed five putts from inside three feet on the last two days and that’s very frustrating. It was even more frustrating today because I hit two or three very nice long putts and that’s the hard part. On 10, I missed a putt from one-and-a-half feet, if I’d tapped it with one hand I probably would have made it!” Schwartzel complained.

He then added, by way of warning to the three golfers ahead of him on the leaderboard: “But my ball-striking was good, where I left off last year. So the big thing is that I’m hitting the ball well and giving myself chances. I just need to make more putts from short range,” Schwartzel said.

How Fisher and Coetzee handle the nerves of chasing down that big win will determine whether they can hold off Sterne, who has five European Tour titles, and serial-winner Schwartzel.

Richard Sterne and Trevor Fisher Jnr shared the lead after the second round of the Joburg Open, but European Tour stars George Coetzee and Charl Schwartzel were hard on the chase at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Friday.

Fisher, after a brilliant 62 on the West Course, and Sterne, who shot a superb 65 on the tougher East Course, are both on 15-under-par, but the names of Coetzee (-12) and Schwartzel (-10) loom dangerously just below them on the leaderboard.

Sterne held a share of the overnight lead with Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer on eight-under-par and the winner of the 2008 Joburg Open immediately went to nine-under with a birdie on the par-five first hole.

Sterne’s strategy of minimising mistakes obviously paid off as he completed a second bogey-free round and collected three more birdies on the front nine and three coming in, including successive birdies on the last two holes.

“I was quite conservative, you have to be on this course, and my game didn’t feel great but I putted well and had a couple of good up-and-downs,” Sterne said.

Fisher has been a Sunshine Tour competitor since 2002 but has become one of the leading players only recently, finishing fourth and ninth on the order of merit in the last two years and being named as the 2012 Players’ Player of the Year earlier this week.

He looked ready to become a regular European Tour contender on Friday as he roared through the back nine in five-under, including three successive birdies to end his round, having earlier eagled the par-five second hole.

“I’m a late bloomer and I think I’ve matured in the last couple of years, but I need to get to the next level now,” the 33-year-old said.

“I was in a happy place out there, everything just happened for me and I sank the putts I needed to sink. I was patient, walked slow and did everything slow. You’ve got to be in the moment, you can’t think about your score … I think that’s the secret to scoring low around here: not trying to make birdies, but trying to hit good shots,” Fisher said.

Coetzee, who shot a phenomenal 64 on the East Course, was playing in the same three-ball as Sterne and he said he had fed off the success of his fellow Pretorian.

“Richie was getting a birdie every other hole so that made me want birdies too. I made some nice putts early on which gave me momentum and I hit the ball great in the stretch. I was pretty happy with my game, except for my long putts, I left a lot short,” Coetzee said.

Schwartzel, who missed the cut when defending his title last year, is cosily positioned just five shots off the lead heading into the weekend, after shooting a 65 on the West Course.

“There’s still a long way to go and Trevor Fisher is playing fantastic golf, but at least I’m still in range. My ball-striking has been good, where I left off last year. So the big thing is that I’m hitting the ball well and giving myself chances. I just need to make more putts from short range,” Schwartzel said.

Fisher, however, said he was ready to make the step up and win his first European Tour co-sanctioned event, having triumphed seven times on the regular Sunshine Tour.

“I’ve been here for 10 years and it’s been a good stepping stone to the European Tour. But I’ve stepped on a lot of stones now and it’s time to get to the top,” Fisher said.

South African Keith Horne and Chile’s Felipe Aguilar are tied with Schwartzel on 10-under, having both shot 66s on the East Course.

Kieffer could only manage a par-72 on the East Course and slipped down into a tie for 11th.

Charl Schwartzel was frustrated with his putter but remained in contention at the Joburg Open as he finished the second round on 10-under-par, five strokes behind leaders Trevor Fisher Jnr and Richard Sterne at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Friday.

The two-time Joburg Open champion shot a six-under-par 65 on the West Course on Friday, but with several short putts being missed, Schwartzel felt he should have been in an even stronger position.

“My putter was the problem, I’ve missed five putts from inside three feet on the last two days and that’s very frustrating. It was even more frustrating today because I hit two or three very nice long putts and that’s the hard part. On 10, I missed a putt from one-and-a-half feet, if I’d tapped it with one-hand I probably would have made it!”, Schwartzel complained.

The world number 18 was otherwise happy with the state of his game as he looks to add to the titles he won in 2010 and 2011 at the historic Linksfield course.

“My ball-striking was good, where I left off last year. So the big thing is that I’m hitting the ball well and giving myself chances. I just need to make more putts from short range,” Schwartzel said.

The 2011 Masters champion shot a solid 68 on the tougher East Course in the first round, but eight birdies and just two dropped shots on Friday saw him rise from a tie for 25th into the top four.

The “gimme” putt missed on 10 accounted for bogey there, while Schwartzel also felt aggrieved about his drop on the par-five 15th, when his approach shot hopped over the green.

“That was a mystery. Branden Grace had just hit a four-iron from five yards behind me into the middle of the green, so I wanted to hit a soft five-iron, but it went 40 metres over. I also missed a three-foot putt, to be fair,” Schwartzel said.

If Schwartzel turns it on, he’s obviously in a different league to the rest of the field and the 28-year-old feels that he is in striking range of Fisher, whose top-class 62 put him on 15-under. Sterne joined him later with a brilliant 65 on the East Course.

A missed cut last year when he was defending his title has added a steely air of determination to Schwartzel and a phenomenal run at the end of 2012 means he is playing with a lot of confidence.

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