Clarke fighting back in SA

Darren Clarke continued his spirited fightback on the third day of the South African open after his disappointing first-round 74, following up his 67 yesterday by moving to three under after 15 holes.

Clarke reached four under at one point. But bogeys on the 12th and 13th saw him slip, before a birdie two holes later helped him bounce back.

Ireland's star performer Damien McGrane was still to tee off, as was overnight leader Michael Lorenzo-Vera.

McGrane shares second place on 10 under alongside Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel and Bernd Wiesberger.

Italian Alessandro Tadini shot the best clubhouse score of 66 to move to eight under overall – but was still four shots adrift of Lorenzo-Vera..

The 35-year-old, who missed the cut at the Pearl Valley Golf Estates last year, carded a faultless round that included six birdies to go with his opening two scores of 68 and 74 for an overall 208 total.

Scotland’s Andrew Coltart also put in an impressive showing, with his six birdies and a bogey helping him to a five-under-par 67 – six under overall and the same score as Ireland's Gary Murphy after his opening two rounds of 72 and 71.

World number eight Henrik Stenson recovered from a poor start to post three birdies in four holes and move to one under after 16 – four under overall - while Justin Rose moved to two under for the competition with a 71.