Canete ahead after third round of Joburg Open

Argentina’s Ariel Canete leads the Joburg Open by one shot after the rain-interrupted completion of the third round at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf club this morning.

With 36 players having to return early this morning to complete their third round, disrupted by a heavy thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon before the fourth round teed off, Canete kept his lead while the early morning heat stifled a number of campaigns.

Canete, a three time winner of the South America Cup as an amateur who hails from the small town of Santa Teresita, some three hours from Buenos Aires, held on to his overnight lead as the last players came through and has a one-shot lead over Andrew McLardy of South Africa going into the final round.

The surprise of the morning was the upsurge of South African Alex Haindl, who shot a 67 to join compatriot Hennie Otto in third place.

Nicknamed ‘Stringbean’ for his slim frame, Haindl is a bright prospect for the final round after three birdies and an eagle on the back nine suddenly catapulted him to the upper echelons of the leaderboard.

Englishman Edward Rush is alongside Scot Alastair Forsyth in a group of six players who are all on ten under, five shots off the lead.