Golf

Back-to-back birdies give Antoine Rozner the edge in Mauritius

Gary Hurley remain in contention for top-10 finish going into final round

Antoine Rozner of France plays his approach shot on the 13th hole during the third round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Mont Choisy Le Golf in Port Louis. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Sat Dec 17 2022 - 13:43

Antoine Rozner produced a big finish on day three of the Mauritius Open to head into the final round with a two-shot advantage.

The Frenchman began the day in a tie for the lead on 10 under par but bogeyed the first and second to slip backwards.

He staged an impressive recovery, though, making birdies at the fourth, fifth and seventh before dropping his third shot of the day at the 10th.

And after making back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th to regain a share of the lead, Rozner saved his best for last, producing a wonderful tee-shot at the short 17th for a birdie there before closing his round with another gain on the 18th, having narrowly missed his eagle try.

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The 29-year-old’s third-round 68 took him to 14 under and handed him a healthy advantage as he bids to claim the title he missed out on three years ago when he lost to Rasmus Hojgaard in a playoff.

Rozner’s countryman Julien Brun was his nearest challenger on 12 under after he made six birdies and a single bogey in his third-round 67, with South African Oliver Bekker a shot further back in third.

After having to deal with breezy conditions on Saturday, two-time DP World Tour winner Rozner was happy with his day’s work.

He said: “It was tough out there. It was blowing a lot more than yesterday. It wasn’t easy at all.

“The long game was tough and the putting was even worse, I thought.

“I struggled a little bit. I had a big putt on the fourth that helped me a lot, and made a birdie after that.

“So that helped me get the round going. After that it was very solid for the most part. I wish I could have maybe holed a couple more at the end but it is what it is and one more round to go.

“I feel like I missed a lot of opportunities but I still shot four under, so in those conditions it’s pretty good.

“That helps me for the confidence and hopefully I can use that for tomorrow.”

Waterford golfer Gary Hurley remains in contention for a top-10 finish after recovering from two bogeys on the front nine to card three birdies on the way home to record a one-under 71 and move to five under and a share of 15th position.

Holywood’s Tom McKibbin slipped down the leaderboard after a four-over 76 that included a triple-bogey six on the par-three 11th and a double-bogey on the short 15th saw him drop back to one over for the tournament.