George Coetzee shot 66 at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort on Saturday to join a tie for seventh place on 10 under par, eight shots behind leader Thorbjorn Olesen.
Coetzee led the first round after he shot 64 on Thursday, but struggled to a 73 the following day to slip out of the top 10. He regained some ground in the third round with four birdies on the back nine for a six-under-par 66, which put him into seventh place alongside Thongchai Jaidee.
‘I had to be very patient out there, but I knew that I was playing well,’ said Coetzee. ‘I’ll give it a go tomorrow and see how many we can get. I’ve got my own thing to do, and I try not to even think about it. I’d rather stay in the now.’
Olesen was coasting toward victory at 18 under par, seven shots clear of a five-way tie for second place held by Matteo Manassero, David Horsey, Haotong Li, David Lipsky and Bernd Wiesberger.
‘I’ll stay aggressive tomorrow and keep plugging away,’ said Olesen. ‘This is the Final Series and it’s a massive event and obviously it would be great to win it.
‘There’s still 18 holes left and I really have to stay concentrated out there and stay in my own little zone.’
Justin Walters also played well on moving day and signed for 68, which included six birdies and two dropped shots. He was seven under par for the tournament and shared 14th place with four others.
Further down the field was Darren Fichardt, who shot 67 on Saturday to rise 18 places up the leaderboard and into a share of 40th.
Brandon Stone was tied for 54th, followed by Thomas Aiken and Richard Sterne in a share of 58th. Jaco van Zyl was 71st, with Haydn Porteous 75th.
