Rowan Lester is just five shots off the lead going into the final round of the Sunshine Tour’s Sunbet Challenge hosted by Sun Sibaya at The Woods at Mount Edgecombe in Durban.
The Hermitage man opened with a level-par round of 70, and began his second round on the 10th tee. He birdied both par-5s on the way out, but dropped a shot on the 18th to turn at -1 for the day.
That mistake on his ninth hole was quickly erased when he holed a pitch shot on the short par-4 first for eagle, then followed up with birdies on two and four to cover the first four holes on the front side in -4.
His second and final bogey of the round came on the par-4 seventh, but his responded by birdieing the par-5 eighth and closed out with a par to shoot a five-under 65 that lifted him into a tie for 16th place and just two shots from the group sharing seventh.
It’s a welcome return to form for the former North of Ireland Amateur Championship winner who has made the cut in just one of his three starts since returning from the mid-season break.
There was disappointment for Liam Grehan who rebounded from an opening 74 to shoot a four-under 66 but despite birdieing the 18th, his level-par tally saw him fall one shot shy of the cutline which saw the 64 at level-par or better advance to the final round.
The top of the leaderboard is dominated by South Africans with Graham van der Merwe leading the way at 10-under after going 63-67. He holds a one-shot advantage over Nikhil Rama and Pieter Moolman, with Australian Austin Bautista, who is in a three-way tie for fourth, the only non home player in the top 10.
Lester will play in the sixth-to-last group on Friday, and should he push his way into the top 10, it would be his first since joining the tour in 2025.
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