Date: December 16, 2007
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Norman continues good form

Oliver Wilson will begin the final round of the South African Airways Open with a one shot lead after his 67 on day three left him on four under par for the championship. The Englishman was on form as he carded five birdies in a bogey-free round to set himself up nicely for the final day at the Pearl Valley Golf Estates, a stroke ahead of overnight leader James Kingston. Greg Norman continued his good form with an even-par round of 72 to remain at one-under for the tournament. The Shark started his round in ideal fashion with birdies on the third and sixth hole, but two bogeys on the back nine undid all his good work. There are likely to be several challengers on the final day though after much calmer weather in Paarl led to over 20 players shooting under par rounds, compared to the first two days that left only three competitors under par for the tournament. One of those players was third-placed Garth Mulroy, who carded a course-record round of 64 to stay on two under, one shot better that fellow South Africans Ulrich van den Berg and Nic Henning. The big names to stay in the frame were Australia&aposs Greg Norman, one over par overall after a level par day three, along with two-time winner Retief Goosen after his two under par round of 70 left him two over par for the competition. Two late bogeys left Northern Ireland&aposs Darren Clarke a shot back on three over, while defending champion Ernie Els all but ended his interest with a five over 77 for an overall score of eight over par. However, it was 27-year-old Wilson who gave himself the best chance of a first career win with his outstanding round. He said: “I&aposm very happy with my round. I am actually quite pleased with how the week&aposs going on, it&aposs getting a little better each day and hopefully it carries on like that. “I was struggling with my swing a little bit but I think the wind&aposs kind of helped. My short game&aposs been really solid this week.” “I managed to get of to a good start today, especially on this course if you get one under early, it tends to relax you a little more and there&aposs a few key holes out there and if you can get through those without many mistakes, you can actually make some good scores, which I managed to do.” “I played all the key holes really well today and hopefully I can do it again tomorrow.” Third Round of the South African Airways Open (Par 72): -4: Wilson Oliver 76 69 67 -3: James Kingston 73 69 71 -2: Garth Mulroy 80 70 64 -1: Nic Henning 4 71 70, Ulrich Van Den Berg 71 73 71 E: Andrew McLardy 72 71 73, Louis Oosthuizen 78 72 66, Robert Rock 70 75 71, Kyron Sullivan 72 71 73 +1: Garry Houston 76 73 68, Greg Norman (Australia) 75 70 72 +2: Retief Goosen 74 74 70, Craig Lile 73 73 72, Alan Michell 76 74 68, Charl Schwartzel 71 76 71 +3: Darren Clarke 72 73 74, Ryan Tipping 74 75 70 +4: Francois Delamontagne 75 74 71, Alex Haindl 71 78 71, Peter Lawrie 74 75 71, Alan McLean 80 71 69, Miles Tunniclif 77 74 69