ROSS FISHER MOVED closer to a first European Tour win in four years after moving into a five-shot lead after round three of the Tshwane Open.
The 33-year old, whose last victory came at the 2010 Irish Open, shot a five-under-par 67 at The Els Club Copperleaf in South Africa.
It was the English golfer’s worst round of the week as he produced five birdies and two bogeys on the front nine before coming home in -2 on the mammoth 7,964-yard course, to leave him -18 after 56 holes.
That was good enough to extend his lead over the field at the €1.5 million euro event after Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey failed to match his second round heroics.
The 35-year old bogied the first but birdied the fifth and sixth to stay in contention. While he couldn’t match the seven-birdie streak of yesterday on the back nine, four birdies and two bogies saw him home in 34 strokes, -13 for the tournament.
Englishman Simon Dyson, who shared the opening-round lead, and Spaniard Carlos Del Moral lie third on 204, six shots adrift of Fisher while Ireland’s Kevin Phelan (68) is one of seven golfers tied for fifth, seven shots behind the leader.
