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'Bushveld Bomber' Du Plessis leads Joburg Open

golf07 March 2026 16:50
By:Grant Winter
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Bushveld bomber Hennie du Plessis, with Major-winning caddie Zak Rasego at his side, fired a sensational eight-under-par 62 to take a two-shot Joburg Open lead on 14-under 196 after round three at par-70 Houghton Golf Club on Saturday.

Overnight leader Brandon Robinson Thompson from England – BRT to his buddies – started the day with a three-shot lead on 12-under 128 after a 66 and a blistering 62.

He was coming off six straight missed cuts and when he dropped early on it looked as though he might be a touch uncomfortable in the unfamilar role as tournament leader.

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He did mount something of a comeback, though, to post level par 70 and is on 12-under 198 in joint second spot.

Glorious sunny weather, a glorious course and some glorious golf – particularly from the 29-year-old Du Plessis – was the order of the day in this R20-million DP World Tour event.

Du Plessis started fast with two straight birdies, but after dropping shots at holes No 6 and No 7, his challenge seemed to be fading. But he pulled a stroke back at the par-4 eighth hole before, remarkably, making five straight birdies from the par-5 10th to surge into the lead. He was bombing big drives all day, and his putter was working like magic.

"I found my momentum on the back nine - shooting 29 - and a lucky bounce out of the rough onto the fairway at the 10th got me going," said Du Plessis.

"After that, lovely tee-shots, lovely putts. It's well-known that I've had injury issues but I'm fit again and feeling great. So let's see what happens."

Short, powerful and stocky with a superb swing, Du Plessis is a member at Sesambos Golf Club, a hidden gem deep in the tiny town of Swartwater, deep in the Limpopo bushveld. Of farming stock, they clearly breed them tough deep in the heart of the platteland – as one spectator observed.

Rasego's assesment of the day: "Hennie's got an awful lot of talent." And are you teaching him the ropes? "No," a modest Zak replied. "He's teaching himself the ropes."

He has three Sunshine Tour wins to his credit, and played exceptionally well a week ago to tie for second behind winner Casey Jarvis in the Investec South African Open at Stellenbosch Golf Club.

Now with the vastly experienced Rasego, who looped for Louis Oosthuizen when he won the 2020 Open, at his side Du Plessis looks well-placed for a bid to win on the far bigger stage that is the DP World Tour.

Jarvis, chasing three straight wins on the DP World Tour, burnt up the back nine on his way to a 64, a score matched by England pair Dan Bradbury and Alex Fitzpatrick, and all three are very much in contention on 12-under 198, along with Robinson Thompson.

The third member of the Du Plessis-Fitzpatrick group, Jayden Schaper, who like Jarvis is chasing a third DP World title this summer, is on 202, and six back, after a 68.

American Patrick Reed, the world No 8 and DP World Tour Order of Merit leader, shot 65 for 202 - six off the pace but, surely in his estimation at least, still in with a chance.

THIRD-ROUND SCORES 

196 - Hennie du Plessis 66 68 62

198 - Alex Fitzpatrick 67 67 64

198 - Dan Bradbury 64 70 64, Casey Jarvis 67 67 64, Brandon Robinson Thompson 66 62 70

200 - Adrian Otaegui 67 67 66

200 - Nathan Kimsey 64 69 67, Jack Hawksby 66 66 68

201 - Daniel van Tonder 67 68 66

201 - David Ravetto 66 67 68

202 - Jason Scrivener 71 66 65

202 - Justin Harding 69 67 66, Jacob Olesen 65 72 65, Patrick Reed 69 68 65, Jamie Rutherford 65 70 67, Ockie Strydom 67 68 67, Jayden Schaper 64 70 68, Luke Brown 66 67 69

203 - Ross Fisher 67 69 67

203 - Zander Lombard 69 68 66, Joost Luiten 67 69 67, Cameron Adam 67 69 67, Marcel Siem 69 67 67, Marcus Armitage 67 68 68, Ryggs Johnston 69 65 69, Louis Albertse 68 65 70, Sean Crocker 66 65 72

204 - Bernd Wiesberger 71 66 67

204 - Joe Dean 70 67 67, Kota Kaneko 70 67 67, Ryan Van Velzen 67 69 68, Kieran Vincent 65 72 67, Ben Schmidt 68 69 67, Julien Guerrier 70 68 66, Connor Syme 71 68 65, Ruan Korb 68 66 70, Jordan Gumberg 67 67 70, Maximilian Steinlechner 64 70 70

205 - Brandon Stone 68 68 69

205 - Allen John 70 68 67, Wilco Nienaber 65 70 70, Jorge Campillo 68 70 67, Todd Clements 68 66 71, Sebastian Garcia 67 72 66, Hugo Townsend 65 67 73

206 - Christiaan Burke 66 71 69

206 - Jacques Kruyswijk 68 69 69, Pieter Moolman 69 67 70, Neil Schietekat 70 68 68, Angel Ayora 64 71 71, Jaco Prinsloo 67 68 71, Eddie Pepperell 70 68 68, JJ Senekal 68 71 67

207 - Jean Hugo 71 66 70

207 - Richard Sterne 68 68 71, Romain Langasque 67 71 69, David Law 67 71 69, Shubhankar Sharma 66 72 69, Joel Girrbach 69 69 69, Ewen Ferguson 67 72 68

208 - Darius van Driel 65 73 70

208 - Herman Loubser 70 69 69, Estiaan Conradie 69 70 69, Stals Swart 70 69 69, Jovan Rebula 69 70 69

209 - Richie Ramsay 67 70 72

209 - Robin Williams 68 70 71, James Morrison 69 70 70, Alejandro Del Rey 70 69 70, Angel Hidalgo 69 70 70

210 - Dylan Frittelli 70 69 71

210 - Sam Bairstow 69 70 71

211 - Ivan Cantero 71 68 72

211 - Martin Vorster 68 71 72

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