Wednesday 2 December 2015 16:36, UK
Charl Schwartzel dug deep after a tentative start to retain a three-shot lead after the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.
Schwartzel led by four overnight, but he bogeyed the first hole before scrambling his way to a two-under 70 as Sebastien Gros roared into a share of second place following a stunning 63 - the low round of the tournament.
Gros had flirted with the cut line after three shots in two holes late in his second round, but he made the first significant move of the early starters on day three when he picked up four shots in five holes from the third.
The 26-year-old, who finished second in the 2015 Road to Oman on the Challenge Tour, then reeled off five birdies in seven holes after the turn and parred the final two to set the clubhouse target at 10 under par.
Gros suddenly found himself tied for the lead when Schwartzel bogeyed the first, but the three-time champion steadied himself with a run of four pars before he birdied the sixth for the third day running.
Schwartzel then converted a solid tee-shot to the short seventh to edge two clear of the field, but some wayward iron play hampered his chances of extending his advantage as he parred the next nine holes.
The home favourite got back on track with an excellent 20-foot putt for birdie at 17, but he failed to reward himself for a sublime pitch from the edge of a bunker at the last when he blocked his three-foot putt for a closing birdie.
"I felt really uncomfortable to be honest, I struggled," Schwartzel told the European Tour afterwards. "As good as the long game was the first few days, it was as bad today and it made me feel very uncomfortable. On the positive side of it, I've shot a lot worse scores playing like this and that means there is an improvement in my game.
"It can't be far away. It has to be feelings, so if I can go and find something that can trigger me I think I'll sleep a little better. I just would like to play some decent golf. If someone shoots a low score and beats me then so be it. I just want to play some decent golf myself, I've been longing for it for a while."
Gros was joined in second place by his fellow Frenchman Benjamin Hebert, who blotted his card twice in three holes around the turn before bouncing back with birdies at 12, 13, 16 and 18 to return a battling 68.
Unheralded South African Dylan Frittelli rolled in his seventh birdie putt of the day at the last to card a 66 which lifted him into outright fourth on eight under, while Scottish journeyman David Drysdale fired a second straight 69 to join Gregory Bourdy, Joost Luiten and Lasse Jensen on seven under.
Defending champion Branden Grace had made the cut with nothing to spare after rounds of 71 and 73, but the world No 18 looked more like his usual self on Saturday as four birdies in his last six holes capped a 66 which got him within seven of Schwartzel.
England's Matt Ford is also in the top 10 on six under after a steady 69, but Eddie Pepperell slipped out of contention after a 74, while Pablo Martin - playing in the final pairing with Schwartzel, is also 10 off the pace.
The Spaniard parred the first eight holes before coming to grief with a quadruple-bogey eight at the ninth, and although he responded with three birdies in five holes, he gave two back at 16 and 17.
