Jbe Kruger will take a one shot lead into the final round of the Avantha Masters, but will have to play well in the final roud with just three shots separating the top 15 golfers.
The South African had two eagles and two birdies in a round of 66 which left him 11 under, one stroke ahead of halfway leader Peter Whiteford, Germany’s Marcel Siem and France’s Jean Baptiste Gonnet.
Kruger impressively went bogey-free in the third round, one a day when consistency was something everyone else seemed to be struggling with.
In contrast, Siem fought back brilliantly after double bogeys at the first two holes, Whiteford double bogeyed the sixth and 17th – the latter costing him the outright lead – and Gonnet did well to recover from four bogeys in his first 12 holes with a run of five birdies in the last six holes.
“I’m going to try to play how I played today,” Kruger said. “If it’s meant to be my week, it’ll be mine, so I don’t want to think too far ahead yet.
“The putts need to go in and I think that’s what defines the winner. I’ve been reading the greens a little better as I’ve been struggling with it during the week.
“My putting has been good and if I can see the line, I’m confident my putts will go in. I’m improving and I’m a lot more experienced, and I think that will give me the edge.”
South African performance
Richard Sterne continued his solid week with another round of 71 for a 6-under total and a share of 18th place. Unfortunately, Peter Karmis failed to make the cut.
