JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen fired a third-round four-under 67 to hold second position two shots behind Austrian Bernd Wiesberger who leads on 20-under at The Renaissance Club, in North Berwick, at the Scottish Open on Sunday.
Wiesberger was tied for the lead with Van Rooyen at the start of the day, and went on to record a six-under round of 66 to forge ahead.
Still searching for his maiden European Tour win, Van Rooyen has already notched up two runner-up finishes this season and remains in an excellent position to take the next step in his career.
"I've got a lot of experience now," he said. "There's 18 holes to go, a lot of guys that can still play well. We've seen some low scores these three days, 61s, 62s, you name it. Bernd and I are both playing well but there's a lot of guys who can still do it.
"Tomorrow I'll go hit one shot at a time and make as many birdies as I can.”
Like his first two rounds, the 29-year-old Van Rooyen limited his bogey-count to just one which came at the par three third.
Two birdies followed at the par four sixth and par four eighth. Three more gains coming home, the first coming at the par five 12th before birdies on both par threes - the 15th and 17th - helped Van Rooyen narrow the gap on Wiesberger.
Countryman George Coetzee shot one of the rounds of the day with a seven-under 64 to move to 13-under. His impressive play on day three saw the 32-year-old rise 37 spots on the leaderboard into a share of 13th.
A shot behind on 12-under in 21st position is veteran Darren Fichardt. The 44-year-old carded a third-round three-under 68.
Defending champion Brandon Stone is on 11-under after a one-under 70, alongside Christiaan Bezuidenhout who won the Andalucia Masters in Spain last month for his first win on the European Tour. The pair share 31st with one round left.
Other SA scores:
-9 : Haydn Porteous 68 68 68, Thomas Aiken 64 71 69
-7: Louis de Jager 70 65 71
-5: Trevor Immelman 66 71 71, Dean Burmester 69 67 72