DP World Tour : Jonsson Workwear Open Leaderboard
Alexander Knappe takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the 2023 Jonsson Workwear Open on 17 under par.
After a delayed start at The Club at Steyn City due to overnight rain, the German shot 65 while Joakim Lagergren's nine-under-par 63 was the best round of the week so far.
The Swede shared second place with second-round leader Nick Bachem, South Africa's Hennie Du Plessis and Malaysia's Gavin Green.
Knappe went out in 32 with two birdies in the first three holes and two in a row at the seventh and eighth.
Further gains at the 10th, 12th, 14th and 16th briefly took him two clear of the field and though he dropped a shot at the 17th, he remained in front as he seeks to follow up back-to-back top-ten finishes at last month's Thailand Classic and Hero Indian Open with a maiden DP World Tour win.
He said: "I played nicely, almost hit every green I think.
"I could have been lower but then on 17 made one bogey - still, I'm a human being, I can't be hard on myself.
"I had no strategy, to be honest, I just played golf and see how it ended up, and shot seven under which is nice!
"It will be the first time for me to lead a big event, I will assess my expectations tonight and enjoy the moment for now - it was a great round."
Lagergren's round featured six birdies in the space of eight holes around the turn, and nine in all, as he surged to the summit.
He birdied the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth to go out in 32 and went one better on the homeward nine with birdies at the tenth, 12th, 13th, 17th and 18th.
The 31-year-old had been one off the lead on day one after a 65 and after following it up with only a level-par 72 on Friday, he was back on song on Moving Day.
He said: "I played really nicely today, my iron shots were a lot better than the previous two days.
"I hit it well off the tee as well and holed a few putts, so basically everything was pretty good. I hit a few poor wedge shots but other than that, flawless.
"It's been a while since I was bogey-free, so that was nice. It's always fun to be in the mix, so I'm looking forward to it."
edit ***** Canada's Aaron Cockerill opened with 66 69 and battled today after a double bogey 7at the 6th for an E 72. At -9 T38th he couldn't take advantage of the soft course and keep pace with the low scoring leaders.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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