STERNE AND FISHER STAY IN FIVE-STROKE LEAD WITH A ROUND TO GO

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Richard Sterne and Trevor Fisher Junior will enter the final round of the Joburg Open boasting a five shot lead over the rest of the field - and contrasting experience of the situation they find themselves in.
The South African pair participated in a titanic battle for supremacy on day three at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington GC, with top spot changing hands on numerous occasions.
Closing birdies lifted both to 19 under and extended their advantage over a quartet of players in third, including a two time winner of this event in Charl Schwartzel.
Schwartzel kept a bogey off his card today in a 68 that matched the efforts of Sterne and Fisher, although things almost unravelled for the 2011 Masters Tournament Champion at the par five last, when he sent his approach right before pitching into a scoreboard.
A fine up and down ensured Schwartzel, who has won his last two events by a combined total of 23 shots, saved par to remain alongside Felipe Aguilar, Jaco van Zyl and George Coetzee; the latter birdied the final three holes to make up for an otherwise frustrating day.
Sterne's last European Tour victory came back in December 2008, but he knows what it takes to win this tournament having done so earlier that year.
The 31 year old was also at the heart of the action last Sunday when finishing second at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and admitted: “It's quite draining for two weeks in a row, but I'd rather be here than in the middle of the pack. The heart is pumping quite fast out there.”
Fisher claimed three wins on the Sunshine Tour last year, taking his tally to seven in all, yet victory here would represent a breakthrough success.
His best European Tour finish came when he finished third at this venue last January, so it is hardly surprising that he admitted to feeling slightly uncomfortable for parts of his third round.
"A bit of nerves set in there," he explained. "You try not to think about the lead, but it's there in front of you.
"I was a bit jumpy with the swing and wasn't waiting at the top, so I hit a few bad shots there. But I came back nicely with a few birdies. It's just a feeling, and you've got to try and feel comfortable out there as much as possible."
Despite his nervourness, Fisher was able to remain comfortably clear of everyone bar Sterne after resuming on 15 under, three ahead of Coetzee.
Both overnight leaders picked up shots at the first and Sterne then birdied six and seven, only to be surpassed by his playing partner, who finished his outward nine with three successive birdies.
Consecutive bogeys for Fisher  saw him slip behind Sterne, who birdied 11. However, the former was soon back on track with two more gains and both men then recovered from dropped shots at 15 with fours on the long 18th.
As an enjoyable tussle unfolded in the final group, Schwartzel, winner here in 2010 and 2011, moved ominously into contention with birdies at one, eight, 12 and 15.
Aguilar was another to shoot 68, while van Zyl's 67 was bettered only by Garth Mulroy and Thomas Aiken, who went round in 65 and 66 respectively to climb into a tie for eighth at 12 under. 

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 215 (2x72, 1x71)
Players from South Africa unless stated
196 Trevor Fisher junior 66 62 68, Richard Sterne 65 65 68
201 Jaco Van Zyl 66 68 67, Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 67 66 68, George Coetzee 67 64 70, Charl Schwartzel 68 65 68

SELECTED TOTALS
203 David Drysdale (Scotland) 68 67 68 (T8)
206 George Murray (Scotland) 71 66 69 (T24)
210 Scott Henry (Scotland) 69 70 71 (T54)  

EDITOR'S COMMENT:
Five of the first six places on the leaderboard are occupied by South Africans. Why are they so dominating on home soil?
If a tournament is held in Britain, it is not dominated by England, Scottish, Welsh players, so what's the difference in South Africa.

THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD

196 - Richard Sterne 63 65 68, Trevor Fisher Jnr 66 62 68

201 - Jaco Van Zyl 66 68 67, Felipe Aguilar (CHL) 67 66 68, Charl Schwartzel 68 65 68, George Coetzee 67 64 70

202 - Peter Uihlein (USA) 65 69 68

203 - Garth Mulroy 70 68 65, Thomas Aiken 67 70 66, Lorenzo Gagli (ITA) 67 68 68, David Drysdale (SCO) 68 67 68, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 68 66 69

204 - Tom Lewis (ENG) 72 65 67, Dean Burmester 67 68 69, Ricardo Santos (POR) 70 65 69, Keith Horne 67 66 71

205 - Paul Waring (ENG) 71 67 67, Danie van Tonder 68 70 67, Justin Walters 71 67 67, Brandon Pieters 69 69 67, James Kamte 70 67 68, Tjaart van der Walt 67 69 69, Bryce Easton 65 70 70

206 - Robert-Jan Derksen (NED) 69 70 67, Lee Slattery (ENG) 67 72 67, Hennie Otto 70 67 69, George Murray (SCO) 71 66 69, James Kingston 66 70 70, Oliver Fisher (ENG) 68 68 70, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 70 66 70, Darren Fichardt 67 69 70, Tyrone Mordt 65 70 71, Richard Finch (ENG) 67 68 71, MJ Daffue 65 70 71

207 - Ulrich van den Berg 71 68 68, Steve Webster (ENG) 71 67 69, Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 67 71 69, Gary Boyd (ENG) 67 71 69, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 67 70 70, Tyrone Ferreira 66 70 71, Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 63 72 72, Jose Manuel Lara (ESP) 69 65 73

208 - Allan Versfeld 66 73 69, Jaco Ahlers 71 68 69, Phillip Price (WAL) 68 71 69, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 66 72 70, Jacques Blaauw 70 67 71

209 - Justin Harding 69 70 70, Jake Redman 66 71 72, Espen Kofstad (NOR) 66 71 72, Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 65 71 73, Bjorn Akesson (SWE) 69 67 73, Oliver Bekker 68 68 73

210 - Michael Hollick 70 69 71, Bradford Vaughan 69 70 71, Alexandre Kaleka (FRA) 66 73 71, Scott Henry (SCO) 69 70 71, David Horsey (ENG) 66 72 72, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 68 70 72, Ockie Strydom 66 71 73, Merrick Bremner 68 69 73

211 - PH McIntyre 72 67 72, Peter Hedblom (SWE) 72 67 72, Graeme Storm (ENG) 76 62 73, Lasse Jensen(DEN) 68 70 73

212 - Jbe' Kruger 68 70 74

213 - Gregory Havret (FRA) 70 69 74

214 - Gary Lockerbie (ENG) 70 69 75

219 - Joshua Cunliffe 67 70 82