Haydn Porteous drew on the “good thoughts and good feelings” of the golf he knows he’s capable of playing to claim a share of the Stella Artois Players Championship lead headed into Sunday’s final round at Dainfern Golf Estate.
Porteous signed for a third round of 63 to share the lead on 23-under par with Keenan Davidse (63) and Michael Hollick (64).
Their nearest challenger is former champion Jaco Ahlers on 21-under par following his 66 on Saturday.
It’s been seven years since Porteous won and he’s keenly aware of that as he chases a victory on Sunday.
“It’s no secret that I’ve really been struggling over the last few years and definitely not playing to the kind of standard that I know I’m capable of,” said Porteous.
“But that’s golf. I think a lot of it is about growing up and dealing with a few more thoughts than normal. At first I was reacting to those thoughts but slowly but surely I’m beginning to understand them and recognise them as just thoughts and just stick to what I’m trying to achieve.
“We battle with these negative thoughts and I felt like I was putting a lot of emphasis on those thoughts. Now I recognise them as bad thoughts and I’m trying instead to focus on the good thoughts and good feelings and focus my energy on the good rather than the bad. It’s making a big change in my game. Over the last six months I’ve been playing better and this week was a good opportunity for me to do something in light of where I am on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.”
As much as he’s been working on his mind, Porteous’ game inside the ropes has been equally solid this week.
“Looking at the previous scores for this tournament I knew we needed to take it low. The par fives are there for the taking and I’ve done that well. My iron play has also helped me a lot this week. It’s been a pretty nice week so far.”
While admitting it’s obviously been a while since he’s contended, Porteous said he’s feeling confident going into the final round.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in this position but we live for these moments. It’s been difficult for me to enjoy the game while not being able to feel these feelings over the past few years. A lot of the time I found myself hanging around the cut mark and that’s not where I want to play my golf.”
SCORES
193 - Haydn Porteous 64 66 63, Keenan Davidse 64 66 63, Michael Hollick 64 65 64
195 - Jaco Ahlers 67 62 66
196 - Joe Long 66 66 64, Louis Albertse 66 66 64, JJ Senekal 69 62 65, MJ Viljoen 65 65 66, Heinrich Bruiners 64 65 67
197 - Jacques Blaauw 68 66 63, Martin Rohwer 68 66 63, Luke Jerling 66 67 64, Deon Germishuys 65 67 65, Callum Mowat 66 64 67, Rourke van der Spuy 63 67 67
198 - Ruan Conradie 65 68 65, Fredrik From 68 65 65, Keelan van Wyk 66 66 66, Luca Filippi 65 67 66
199 - Daniel van Tonder 64 71 64, Stuart Krog 66 67 66, Nikhil Rama 71 62 66, Neil Schietekat 69 64 66
200 - Dylan Naidoo 71 65 64, Pierre Pellegrin 65 70 65, Conner Mackenzie 70 65 65, Jaco Van Zyl 66 68 66, Ryan Van Velzen 70 63 67, Wynand Dingle 70 61 69, Robson Chinhoi 65 64 71
201 - Jack Hawksby 66 69 66, James Mack 68 67 66, Tristen Strydom 66 69 66, Jovan Rebula 69 65 67, Martin Vorster 69 64 68, Darren Fichardt 67 66 68, Hennie O'Kennedy 66 64 71, Jean Hugo 65 65 71
202 - Jacques Kruyswijk 71 66 65, Herman Loubser 66 71 65, Sean Bradley 73 64 65, Jonathan Broomhead 67 69 66, Luke Brown 70 66 66, Anton Karlsson 69 66 67, JC Ritchie 66 69 67, Malcolm Mitchell 67 67 68
203 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 67 70 66, Stefan Wears-Taylor 66 68 69, Ricky Hendler 65 69 69, Jake Roos 66 67 70, Harry Konig 67 64 72
204 - Franklin Manchest 66 71 67, Thabiso Ngcobo 70 66 68, Yurav Premlall 71 64 69
205 - Ruan Korb 66 71 68, Jason Roets 68 69 68, Jbe' Kruger 68 69 68, Albert Venter 72 64 69, Travis Ladner 68 67 70, Trevor Fisher Jnr 67 68 70
206 - Robin Williams 69 68 69, Lyle Rowe 68 68 70
207 - Visitor Mapwanya 70 66 71, Hayden Griffiths 67 68 72
208 - Jonathan Waschefort 73 63 72, Tristin Galant 67 67 74
209 - Gerhard Pepler 66 69 74
211 - Ethan Smith 69 67 75
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