Homa leads at Sun City as Irish sextet lies outside cut line at Q-School

Max Homa. Image: Getty Images

Max Homa came home in three-under-par to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

The world number eight is the highest-ranked player in the field at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City and he showed his class coming home as he eagled the par-five 10th and birdied the par-five 14th to card a three under par 69 and lead on 13 under in his quest for his maiden DP World Tour win.

The six-time PGA TOUR winner cancelled out a bogey at the fourth – his first of the week – with a birdie at the fifth to make the turn at level par, before he holed a running 56-degree wedge from a greenside bunker at the 10th for eagle.

A final birdie of the day arrived at the 14th before playing partner Pavon bogeyed the 15th and 16th to drop into second place at ‘Africa’s Major’ after a 70.

“I wasn't swinging it so well to start, I was a bit scrappy,” Homa said. “I hit the ball really well coming down the last nine or ten holes, that was nice. 

“I didn't hole anything putting-wise, but I made a nice bunker shot for eagle on ten, which helped because I couldn't get the ball to go into the hole.”

Danish pair Nicolai Højgaard and Thorbjørn Olesen matched each other with rounds of 69 to share third place on 11 under, with Englishman Dan Bradbury a shot further back on 10 under.

Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood posted a one under 71 to move into a tie for eighth place on seven under par and keep alive faint hopes of adding a historic third successive Nedbank Golf Challenge title.

As for Galgorm’s Tom McKibbin, the Newtonabbey rookie (20) made an eagle at the 14th as well as two birdies and three bogeys in a 71 to share 24th on three-under.

At the six-round DP World Tour Qualifying School Final Stage, it was a frustrating day for four of the six Irishmen in action at INFINITUM in Tarragona.

All six are outside the top 70 and ties who will make the 72-hole cut on Monday and well outside the top 25 and ties who will be awarded cards after six rounds.

While Jonathan Caldwell made seven birdies in a four-under 68 on the Lakes Course, he lies joint 89th on one-under, a shot outside the top 70 and five strokes outside the top 25.

Ruaidhri McGee is a shot further back on level par after a three-over 74 at the Lakes, where Mount Juliet’s Mark Power bounced back from a first round 76 with a three-under 68 to move up to 118th on one-over.

Naas’ Conor O’Rourke bogeyed three of his last five holes at the Lakes and carded a three-over 74 to fall to joint 134th on three over while Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy is a shot further back on four-over after signing for a four-over 76 on the Hills Course.

As for Portmarnock’s Conor Purcell, he suffered a poor finish for the second day running and double-bogeyed the par-five 18th at the Lakes to sign for a one-over 72 that left him tied 145th in the 155-man field on five-over.

At the top of the leaderboard, Freddy Schott roared home in seven-under 28 as he shot a bogey-free, eight-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead after round two. 

Starting on the tenth at the Lakes Course, the German (22) turned in one under par before a six-hole stretch from the first saw him card five birdies and an eagle to lead by one stroke from Spaniard Sebastian Garcia on 12-under.

“Being out here and shooting low has given me some confidence ahead of a long week,” Schott said. “There’s more tension in the air here than other tournaments, but on the other side of it, it’s almost more raw golf.

“There’s not much media, not many cameras, it’s just about the golf. I can’t really think about earning one of the DP World Tour cards yet. There are four rounds left and there’s a lot that can happen.”

Italian Filippo Celli sits in third place on ten under par alongside Welshman Jack Davidson and Denmark’s Sebastian Friedrichsen.

Overnight leader Jeppe Kristian Andersen is one shot further back in a share of sixth with Zimbabwean Benjamin Follett-Smith and Denmark’s Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen.

The leading 25 players and ties at the end of six rounds at INFINITUM will secure a card on the DP World Tour.