Tournament: NMB Championship
Venue: Humewood GC, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Hashtag: #NMBChampionship
Day three report
Lee Slattery will share a one-stroke lead with Hayden Hopewell and Jonathan Caldwell heading into the final day of the NMB Championship as round three was suspended due to darkness at Humewood Golf Club.
Round three got under way this morning before high winds suspended play for a total of six hours and 20 minutes.
Englishman Slattery carded three birdies to reach 15 under par before his third round was cut short after seven holes, while Australian Hopewell has nine holes to play and Northern Ireland’s Caldwell has 12 holes left.
Slattery, who won the Challenge Tour Rankings in 2004, admitted it was tough to mentally reset after such a long delay in round three.
“We had a full day off today and it was a really tricky day mentally because I wasn’t really sure when I was going to be out on the golf course,” he said. “We got lucky with the weather this morning but it’s going to be a tough day again tomorrow.
“It seems scary that 20 years ago I won the Challenge Tour Rankings. To be back here playing is great and I see it as a stepping stone to return to the DP World Tour. My plan is to remain consistent throughout the year and hopefully get back to the level I know my game can get to.”
Co-leader Caldwell was pleased to take advantage of the calm evening conditions and will go in search of a maiden Challenge Tour victory tomorrow.
“It was a very lazy day,” he said. “I had a lot of hours on the sofa with a lot of Netflix but luckily I got out for a few holes when the wind dropped down and took advantage of it.
“I knew by the forecast that it was going to be a long day so I was mentally prepared and at one point I wasn’t expecting to be on the golf course. It was great to get out for a few holes and hopefully we can get back out in the morning.”
The trio lead by one ahead of Frenchman Martin Couvra and overnight co-leader Björn Åkesson in second place, while South Africans Keenan Davidse, Anthony Michael and Martin Vorster share sixth on 13 under par.
The third round will resume at 7:00am local time tomorrow.
