Defending champion Marc Cayeux took a one-shot lead at 13-under 197 into the final round of the Nashua Masters after his third-round five-under-par 65 on the par-70 Wild Coast Sun Country Club course.

He got three of his six birdies on the par three, and only a poorly played 14th resulted in his solitary bogey: "It's a tough hole in this wind," he said, "and I left myself with a very difficult putt after finishing up in the greenside bunker."

His five-under was an understated round on a day on which five other players shot 65s, including his nearest rival Darren Fichardt, who has been so near during the last two weekends on the Sunshine Tour. He was on 12-under 198.

"I really must try and close the deal," said Fichardt as he lamented missed opportunities.

"I picked up birdie on 14, which was good in the wind, and was close on 15 and 16," he said. "The miss on the par-five 16 was frustrating, because I hit a great drive, and had an eight iron in, but I three-putted."

He picked up a birdie on the short 17th, and then had a 12-metre putt on 18 run agonisingly close by the hole.

Scotland's David Drysdale was two shots behind Fichardt on 10-under 200 after his 67, and Jaco van Zyl, Tyrone van Aswegen and Titch Moore are bunched on nine-under 201.

Van Zyl's was the round of the day: His six-under 64 was unblemished by a bogey, and he didn't manage to get birdie on any of the six par-threes.

Van Aswegen's round was also an eye-opener: He finished with four consecutive birdies, and, had he not bogeyed the first and the 10th, he would have shot better than his 65 and been even higher on the board.

Moore had a frustrating time on the pesky 14th, under-clubbing his approach and then three-putting. He tried to make things up by taking the Tiger line over the water on the 16th, and dumped his ball in the hazard. He saved par, but the opportunity to go really low was gone, and his 65 left him four shots behind Cayeux.

Cayeux will play the final round with Fichardt and Drysdale, so he will be able to keep an eye on his nearest rivals. "I'd prefer to be level with them, or one behind, to be honest," he said. "But ultimately, you must play to win everything."

Sapa

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