Porteous leads as Van Wyk makes a move in Cell C Challenge
- Sunshine Tour
- Jan 24
- 3 min read
Haydn Porteous is hunting his first victory of the new year as he takes a three-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player at Killarney Country Club.
Porteous, who has led from the first round, maintained his challenge with a third round of 68 on Saturday which lifted him to 14-under par overall.
After waiting eight years between victories, Porteous could now win twice in just over four months. A win on Sunday would be his second this season on the Sunshine Tour following his victory in September’s Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm.
His nearest challengers are Kieron van Wyk and Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith on 11-under par.
Van Wyk surged into contention following a sublime third round of 62, while Follett-Smith signed for a 67.
As solid as Porteous has been all week, it was Van Wyk who provided the true fireworks on Saturday with his 62 – the lowest round of the tournament thus far.
“I felt like Gary Player on the greens today,” he said of South Africa’s greatest ever sportsman.
“I was able to get the putter rolling pretty quickly and just saw myself making a bunch of birdies.”
After four straight pars to start his round, Van Wyk followed up with eight birdies thereafter and didn’t drop a single shot.
“I haven’t been hitting the ball that well but I found something on the range which I said I was going to bring into my game today. I struggled a little bit for the first three holes but I made a good up-and-down on the fourth and from there it was pretty much open gates. I was able to see the lines really well today and rolled the putts where I was looking.”
Much has been expected of Van Wyk upon his return to South Africa following a stellar amateur career at college in the United States, and he’s certainly excited about the opportunity that awaits on Sunday.
“I knew I needed a low one to get into contention, and now that I’ve done that I know my game can stay at that level for the final round. I’m excited. I didn’t think it would come this early in the new year but I’m excited for the opportunity.”
Scores
196 - Haydn Porteous 64 64 68
199 - Kieron van Wyk 68 69 62
199 - Benjamin Follett-Smith 67 65 67
200 - Joe Long 68 63 69
202 - Tristen Strydom 67 70 65
202 - Herman Loubser 67 65 70
203 - Yurav Premlall 66 69 68
203 - Jaco Ahlers 68 67 68, Karabo Mokoena 67 67 69, Tyran Snyders 64 70 69, Nikhil Rama 66 66 71
204 - Stephen Ferreira 73 66 65
204 - Martin Rohwer 67 72 65, Thomas Spreadborough 67 69 68, Jason Roets 65 69 70
205 - Franklin Manchest 72 67 66
205 - Deon Germishuys 65 73 67, Hayden Griffiths 70 68 67
206 - MJ Viljoen 66 72 68
206 - Stals Swart 67 71 68, Wynand Dingle 70 67 69, Luke Brown 68 68 70, Robson Chinhoi 65 70 71, Justin Walters 66 68 72
207 - Ryan Van Velzen 68 71 68
207 - Tomas Gana 67 71 69, Christian Kriek 67 71 69, Keagan Thomas 72 63 72, James Mack 69 66 72
208 - Malcolm Mitchell 71 68 69
208 - Kyle De Beer 67 72 69, Matthew Spacey 68 70 70, Estiaan Conradie 69 69 70, Altin van der Merwe 71 67 70, Stefan Wears-Taylor 68 68 72, Makhetha Mazibuko 68 67 73, Jordan Burnand 69 66 73, David Amm 65 67 76
209 - Graham van der Merwe 69 70 70
209 - Xander Basson 65 74 70, Louis Albertse 67 71 71, Jaco Prinsloo 71 67 71, Conner Mackenzie 66 72 71
210 - Pierre Viallaneix 65 74 71
210 - Rowan Lester 67 72 71, Mikkel Antonsen 69 69 72, Gerhard Pepler 68 70 72, Jean-Paul Strydom 69 69 72, Jack Hawksby 67 67 76
211 - Joe Knox 67 72 72
211 - Stuart Krog 68 71 72, Pierre Pellegrin 69 69 73, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 67 71 73, Jonathan Broomhead 69 68 74
212 - Benjamin Van Wyk 72 65 75
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