Wilco Nienaber is set to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the UAE Challenge after posting a three-under-par round of 69 on day three at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
The South African golfer achieved a total of 12 under par, courtesy of seven birdies and four bogeys, placing him two strokes ahead of his nearest competitors, Swiss Benjamin Rusch, and Englishmen Pavan Sagoo and David Horsey.
Despite three bogeys on the back nine, Nienaber was satisfied with his performance, even with the challenging conditions brought by the sweltering heat and the gusty winds.
“Today was pretty good,” he commented. “I had a couple of iffy shots but all in all, very pleased.”
“The execution wasn’t quite there today, but it wasn’t far off. Most of it was pretty good.”
As a player with a long drive, Nienaber highlighted the benefit of his length off the tee, mentioning how it helps him avoid bunkers on certain holes.
“Length always helps if you hit it good,” he remarked. “There are definitely a few holes where bunkers aren’t in play for me.”
“That said, you still have to hit a good tee shot to be in position and hole putts.”
The final round starts at 7:30 am local time, with Nienaber, Horsey, and Sagoo teeing off at 9:30 am.
Spaniard Angel Ayora posted the day’s best score with a seven-under 65, positioning himself in a tie for fifth place with a group of international players, including Frenchman Gary Stal and Finn Tapio Pulkkanen.
Reflecting on his previous challenges in maintaining a lead, Nienaber took a relaxed approach to the final round.
“It’s just another round,” he stated. “This is my fourth Sunday in a row that I’m going in with a chance to win the tournament.”
“It’s not quite worked out but that is just the way the game is. Hopefully tomorrow I feel more comfortable.”
With a relaxed mindset and impressive driving skills, Nienaber looks forward to the final day, where he’ll aim to convert his lead into a victory.
Scores after round 3
204 W NIENABER (RSA) 65 70 69,
206 P SAGOO (ENG) 70 70 66, D HORSEY (ENG) 70 68 68, B RUSCH (SUI) 67 70 69,
207 G STAL (FRA) 70 71 66, A AYORA (ESP) 73 69 65, T PULKKANEN (FIN) 68 70 69, C MCKINNEY (AUS) 69 69 69, R NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) 65 72 70,
208 H MAGNUS (ISL) 69 72 67, K BROBERG (SWE) 69 70 69, H BROWN (DEN) 69 66 73,
209 C PURCELL (IRL) 69 71 69, M COUVRA (FRA) 72 68 69, J CATLIN (USA) 71 69 69, M WARREN (SCO) 71 67 71, J SAINZ (ESP) 70 68 71, J BERRY (ENG) 65 68 76,
210 S BROWN (ENG) 69 71 70, J MOSCATEL (ESP) 71 71 68, K VAN DER WEELE (NED) 69 69 72, B VIRTO (ESP) 70 73 67, A LEVY (FRA) 68 68 74,
211 C BERARDO (FRA) 68 72 71, F MORY (FRA) 68 72 71, C BRING (DEN) 69 70 72, N VON DELLINGSHAUSEN (GER) 71 68 72, G HURLEY (IRL) 72 70 69,
212 J LEE (USA) 72 69 71, V VAN VEEN (NED) 67 75 70, J DAVIDSON (WAL) 70 70 72, P KATICH (GER) 71 71 70, B HEBERT (FRA) 71 71 70, J PARRY (ENG) 73 70 69, D MCELROY (NIR) 69 68 75,
213 O LINDELL (FIN) 70 71 72, R ENOCH (WAL) 71 70 72, C WOOD (ENG) 71 70 72, S MAZZOLI (ITA) 72 69 72, M HAMMER (GER) 71 69 73, F KENNEDY (ENG) 71 70 72, R ROUSSEL (FRA) 73 67 73, B FOLLETT-SMITH (ZIM) 70 69 74, N LEMKE (SWE) 71 71 71, N KRISTENSEN (DEN) 73 70 70,
214 R KLEU (SUI) 74 68 72, O CRAIG (AM) (ENG) 69 73 72, G KRISTJANSSON (ISL) 76 66 72, R KARLBERG (SWE) 71 72 71,
215 A HALVORSEN (NOR) 71 70 74, W BESSELING (NED) 67 75 73, C PAISLEY (ENG) 72 67 76, B ROBINSON THOMPSON (ENG) 73 69 73, P PINEAU (FRA) 71 68 76, J AXELSEN (DEN) 68 70 77, D GERMISHUYS (RSA) 72 71 72, M LINDBERG (SWE) 69 74 72,
216 G PORTEOUS (ENG) 69 72 75, B BAWDEN (ENG) 72 68 76, ? ?TIRN (SLO) 71 71 74, J WALTERS (RSA) 71 71 74,
217 J STALTER (FRA) 71 71 75,
222 C KNIPES (ENG) 71 72 79,
**
144 J YULE (ENG) 73 71, J FLOYDD (ENG) 72 72, C BRAEUNIG (GER) 73 71, R SANTOS (POR) 71 73, L VAN MEIJEL (NED) 73 71, R WATTEL (FRA) 72 72, O HUNDEB?LL (DEN) 74 70, J MURPHY (IRL) 71 73, P L?NGFORS (SWE) 74 70, J RUTHERFORD (ENG) 69 75, A CHESTERS (ENG) 70 74,
145 P FIGUEIREDO (POR) 72 73, J MCDONALD (SCO) 75 70, J HANSEN (DEN) 71 74, L RUUSKA (FIN) 73 72, D RAVETTO (FRA) 75 70, J LAGERGREN (SWE) 74 71, J SALE (FRA) 70 75, G BOURDY (FRA) 71 74, O GUILLAMOUNDEGUY (FRA) 74 71, J DE BRUYN (GER) 75 70,
146 J FREIBURGHAUS (SUI) 75 71, B GILL (ENG) 70 76, T GOUVEIA (POR) 77 69, G DE LEO (ITA) 73 73, O FARR (WAL) 74 72, D FOOS (GER) 73 73, G MASON (ENG) 76 70, Q VIDAL (ESP) 73 73, V PASTOR (ESP) 71 75, J ANDERSEN (DEN) 70 76, J SENEKAL (RSA) 73 73, A WILSON (ENG) 70 76, E WALKER (SCO) 67 79, O BEKKER (RSA) 69 77,
147 M POWER (IRL) 71 76, C HOWIE (SCO) 76 71, L VACARISAS (ESP) 75 72, R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA) 71 76, D VAN TONDER (RSA) 71 76, T THURLOWAY (ENG) 78 69, A ID OMAR (MAR) 73 74, C BLOMSTRAND (SWE) 73 74, J DEAN (ENG) 70 77, S HUTSBY (ENG) 74 73, R MCEVOY (ENG) 72 75, A DE BONDT (BEL) 75 72, J GRENVILLE-WOOD (UAE) 69 78, S BROHOLT LIND (DEN) 72 75, M GIBOUDOT (FRA) 73 74,
148 A ZEMMER (ITA) 79 69, D YOUNG (SCO) 72 76, J CALDWELL (NIR) 77 71, T TREE (ENG) 74 74,
149 T VAHLENKAMP (GER) 74 75, V BJORLOW (DEN) 75 74, M SCHMITT (GER) 74 75, L SLATTERY (ENG) 71 78, G BOYD (ENG) 77 72, L KEUNEN (NED) 73 76, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 75 74, P BOVARI (ITA) 74 75,
150 G BLOOR (ENG) 75 75, I ABOU EL ELA (AM) (EGY) 74 76, K ATTIEH (AM) (KSA) 72 78,
151 J G?TH-RASMUSSEN (DEN) 78 73, J ALLAN (ENG) 77 74, J SELVARAJ (AM) (UAE) 79 72, A BOASSON (ISL) 75 76, B EASTON (RSA) 76 75, B ?KESSON (SWE) 78 73,
152 H HOPEWELL (AUS) 77 75, S MUKHERJEE (AM) (SCO) 76 76, A ETCHENIQUE (FRA) 77 75, A SKAIK (AM) (UAE) 78 74, W DE VRIES (NED) 69 83,
153 R MULLARNEY (IRL) 75 78, R THOMPSON (ENG) 77 76, O RAOUZI (MAR) 80 73, S DAHMANE (AM) (MAR) 74 79, T POWER HORAN (AUS) 77 76, S MULLANE (AM) (UAE) 80 73,
154 D MOSTERT (RSA) 76 78, T STEPHENSON (AM) (ENG) 77 77,
155 C GUICHARD (FRA) 79 76,
156 S AL KURDI (JOR) 76 80, M STEWART (SCO) 79 77,
159 C LINDH (SWE) 74 85,
160 A PLANT (ENG) 82 78, A VENTER (RSA) 81 79,
171 A AL MUSHARREKH (UAE) 84 87,
**
OUT A QUIROS (ESP) 70 RT, R GULATI (AM) (IND) DQ ,
