Cool Fisher Jr holds onto lead in CIRCA Cape Town Open

Trevor Fisher Jr. Sunshine Tour

Trevor Fisher Jr took another casual stroll around 18 holes at Royal Cape Golf Club on Saturday. He chipped in for eagle. He putted well. He signed for a 67. And he leads the CIRCA Cape Town Open by a single shot going into Sunday’s final round. It was the perfect example of how to make golf look easy.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it, which is not always easy with this game,” said the South African, who heads the field on 16-under par as he looks to end a decade-long win drought with a victory in this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour event.

His nearest challenger is Spain’s Santiago Tarrio who posted a 65 for a total of 15-under par. Another Spaniard in Pablo Ereno is third on 12-under par after a 70.

But on Saturday, despite what was happening around him, Fisher Jr looked to be in his own world. And that’s exactly where he plans to stay.

“I felt relaxed out there and didn’t feel under pressure. If I was in trouble I managed to get out of it. I putted nicely and saved one or two shots with some nice up-and-downs. But I’m trying to take the pressure off myself and just play the game and not have too many swing thoughts in my head.”

As a nine-time winner, the last of which was the DP World Tour co-sanctioned Africa Open in 2015, Fisher Jr has a wealth of experience for what Sunday’s final round will bring – including a healthy dose of Cape wind.

His short game has been sublime, highlighted by a chip-in for eagle on the par-four 12th today.

“I’d made a naughty three-putt the hole before – my first this week. So I had a 25-metre chip and it spun a bit right and went in. That was nice.”

But it’s his new realisation of how he wants to approach the game going forward that has worked so well for him this week.

“This is not a perfect game. You just need to find a way to get the ball in the hole in the least amount of shots. I’m just trying to be very easy and chilled out there. So tomorrow we’ll take another casual stroll out there and see what happens. If we do it we do it. If we don’t, I’ll still be the same person on Monday.”

It’s a common theme amongst the leading contenders.

Behind him, Tarrio is taking the same approach.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve made scores like this. I was very relaxed. It’s been a tough last few years, so my focus is to enjoy it first and the score comes after that.”

Scores

200 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 66 67 67

201 - Santiago Tarrio 69 67 65

204 - Pablo Ereno 66 68 70

205 - Will Enefer 65 70 70

205 - Tapio Pulkkanen 68 67 70

206 - Hennie Otto 66 70 70

207 - Pieter Moolman 70 72 65

207 - Louis Albertse 65 73 69, Julien Quesne 71 67 69, Canon Claycomb 66 69 72

208 - Lars van Meijel 69 73 66

208 - Lorenzo Scalise 71 71 66, Nikhil Rama 67 74 67, Kieran Vincent 70 70 68, David Horsey 67 72 69, Andrew Wilson 70 69 69, Maxence Giboudot 69 70 69, Gary Hurley 65 73 70, Haraldur Magnus 68 68 72

209 - Baard Skogen 65 76 68

209 - MJ Viljoen 71 69 69, Callan Barrow 69 70 70, Ryan Lumsden 67 71 71, Dan Erickson 66 71 72, Wilco Nienaber 66 70 73, Samuel Simpson 68 68 73, Marc Warren 65 70 74, Jason Roets 68 67 74

210 - Kyle Barker 71 71 68

210 - Luke Brown 70 72 68, Jannik de Bruyn 70 72 68, Deon Germishuys 71 70 69, Liam Nolan 71 69 70, Benjamin Hebert 69 70 71, Christofer Rahm 71 68 71, Ruan Korb 69 69 72, Grant Haefner 70 67 73

211 - Julien Sale 67 75 69

211 - Austin Bautista 68 74 69, JJ Senekal 67 74 70

212 - Lukas Nemecz 70 72 70

212 - Bryce Easton 70 72 70, Otto Van Buynder 72 70 70, Martin Vorster 68 72 72, Tom Lewis 65 74 73, Keenan Davidse 69 70 73, Maximilian Kieffer 67 71 74

213 - Hamish Brown 69 73 71

213 - Victor Pastor 72 70 71, Lucas Vacarisas 72 70 71, Robert Foley 70 71 72, Borja Virto 71 70 72, Lyle Rowe 66 74 73, Christiaan Burke 68 72 73, Jaco Ahlers 69 70 74, Conor Purcell 68 71 74

214 - Gerhard Pepler 67 75 72

214 - Sam Jones 71 71 72, Graham van der Merwe 72 70 72, Kyle McClatchie 71 70 73, Robson Chinhoi 66 75 73, Benjamin Rusch 70 71 73

215 - Bjorn Akesson 67 73 75

215 - Ryan Van Velzen 68 72 75, Malcolm Mitchell 66 73 76

216 - James Meyer De Beco 70 72 74

217 - Per Langfors 69 72 76