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Altin van der Merwe during round three of the FBC Zim Open: Image Credit - Sunshine Tour Images

A BRILLIANT third round eight-under-par 64 propelled South African professional Altin van der Merwe to the top of the leaderboard at the 2026 FBC Zimbabwe Open taking place at Royal Harare Golf Club.

Van der Merwe is now on 17-under-par 199 and holds a solid four-shot lead over Kyle Barker and Austin Bautista heading into Sunday’s final round.

Starting moving day in second place alongside amateur Andries van der Vyver, two shots behind Tomas Gana, Van der Merwe produced a scintillating performance, dropping just a single shot. He had a flawless front nine, picking up a birdie at the second hole, followed by an eagle at the third and another birdie at the sixth for an outward 32. After the turn, he made a bogey at the 10th before recovering with another eagle at the 12th, followed by three more birdies at the 14th, 16th and 18th for an inward 32 to take the outright lead at the top of the leaderboard. Barker and Bautista are on 13-under-par 203. Barker carded a 66 on moving day while Bautista shot a 67. Barker’s 66 featured two eagles at the third and sixth, as well as five birdies at the second, fourth, eighth, 12th and 14th. He dropped shots at the seventh, 10th and 15th. Bautista, on the other hand, dropped a single shot at the second hole before responding with birdies at the fifth, 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th and 18th. He had a flawless back nine. Jaco Prinsloo sits in fourth place on 12-under-par 204, with Samuel Simpson and Gana, who led the first two rounds, sharing fifth place on 10-under-par 206. Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent and Warwick Purchase share seventh place on nine-under-par 207.

Gabriel Morgan, Heinrich Bruiners, Benjamin Kedochim, Jacques van der Merwe and Van der Vyver are tied for ninth place on eight-under-par 208.