JOHANNESBURG, November 26, 2011 (AFP) - Hennie Otto moved into a three-stroke lead in the South African Open on Saturday with a third-round, seven-under-par score of 65 after playing a scorching back nine in 30 strokes.
The South African heads into the final 18 holes of the one-million-euro ($1.32m) tournament with a 14-under-par total of 202, ahead of two-time champion Retief Goosen, who shares a four-way tie for second place.
"The SA Open is our national championship. You always want to do well. I'm in a better place than I used to be and I'm going one way and that's not down," said Otto, who was once known for his bad-boy image.
"The guy who plays the best tomorrow (Sunday) wins. I don't keep stats. I've led from the front and lost from the front. Tomorrow's a new day."
Behind the 35-year-old were Goosen, Thomas Aiken, Garth Mulroy and Sweden's Magnus A Carlsson, who ended day three on 11-under-par at the Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate.
Otto moved into a shared lead with Goosen, who carded a 71 following a three-birdie start, after hitting a birdie at 10, an eagle at 11 and another birdie at 12.
"It was an easy pin to get at and I hit it exactly as I wanted to and made the eagle. That just changed the momentum there," he said.
Two more birdies at number 15 and 17 followed, putting him in the front-running position and making up for a bogey start to the day.
Otto birdied the second but dropped the fifth and said the greens had been quicker than in the previous two days.
"On these greens, if you hit it in the wrong place you three-putt," he said.
He went on to put two birdies away at the seventh and eighth.
"I started hitting it in the right places and I made more putts. That makes a big difference," he said.
Otto was paired with defending champion Ernie Els, who hit a quadruple-bogey at the par-five number 16 hole and went to 76. He heads into day four with a total of 214.
The Big Easy had been distracted by the crowds at the 16th, said Otto.
"There's no control in the crowds -- they should ban the phones when you come in. It's got ridiculous," the Sapa news agency quoted him as saying.
Halfway leader Steven O'Hara of Scotland finished up on 207.
The contest, the second oldest national championship after the British Open, turns 101 this year.
Notably absent from the tournament are locals and Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who are at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China.
The course on the outskirts of Johannesburg, called the Masai Mara, opened in 2009 with its signature hole the par-five number eight, which has an island green.
Leading scores on Saturday after the third round of the South African Open at the par-72, Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate on the outskirts of Johannesburg (RSA unless noted):
202 - Hennie Otto 70-67-65
205 - Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 73-66-66, Thomas Aiken 68-69-68, Garth Mulroy 67-68-70, Retief Goosen 66-68-71
206 - Jaco Ahlers 74-67-65, Merrick Bremner 66-68-72
207 - Richard Bland (ENG) 72-69-66, Alvaro Velasco (ESP) 69-72-66, Markus Brier (AUT) 68-72-67, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 69-68-70, Keith Horne 68-69-70, Jbe' Kruger 65-71-71, Jean Hugo 67-69-71, Steven O'Hara (SCO) 65-68-74
208 - Ockie Strydom 69-72-67, Darren Fichardt 71-69-68, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 68-70-70, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 71-67-70, Lyle Rowe 69-66-73
209 - Richard McEvoy (ENG) 70-70-69, Carlos Del Moral (ESP) 70-70-69, Thomas Norret (DEN) 69-69-71, Tyrone Mordt 66-72-71, Lloyd Saltman (SCO) 69-68-72
210 - Floris de Vries (NED) 69-73-68, Sam Little (ENG) 74-67-69, George Murray (SCO) 69-72-69, Trevor Fisher Jnr 68-72-70, Jaco Van Zyl 69-69-72