If Trevor Fisher Jnr wins the Joburg Open he will prevent Ricard Sterne overtaking Shane Lowry in the world rankings. Picture ©GettyImagesSouth Africans Richard Sterne and Trevor Fisher Junior will enter the final round of the Joburg Open with a five shot lead over the rest of the field after a titanic battle for supremacy on day three at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, writes the European Tour.

At the end of a day when the lead changed hands on numerous occasions, both players finished with birdies for matching rounds of 68 and 19 under par total of 196, extending their advantage over a quartet of players in third, including a two time winner of this event in Charl Schwartzel.

Schwartzel kept a bogey off his card in a 68, although things almost unravelled for the 2011 Masters Tournament Champion at the par five last, when he sent his approach right before pitching into a scoreboard.

A fine up and down ensured Schwartzel, who has won his last two events by a combined total of 23 shots, saved par to remain alongside Felipe Aguilar, Jaco van Zyl and George Coetzee; the latter birdied the final three holes to make up for an otherwise frustrating day.

Sterne’s last European Tour victory came back in December 2008, but he knows what it takes to win this tournament having done so earlier that year.

The 31 year old was also at the heart of the action last Sunday when finishing second at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and admitted: “It’s quite draining for two weeks in a row, but I’d rather be here than in the middle of the pack. The heart is pumping quite fast out there.”

Richard Sterne will qualify for the WGC-Accenture Match Play if he wins the Joburg Open. Picture ©GettyImagesFisher Junior claimed three wins on the Sunshine Tour last year, taking his tally to seven in all, yet victory here would represent a breakthrough success.

His best European Tour finish came when he finished third at this venue last January, so it is hardly surprising that he admitted to feeling slightly uncomfortable for parts of his third round.

“A bit of nerves set in there,” he explained. “You try not to think about the lead, but it’s there in front of you.”

Scores (RSA unless specified):

196 - Richard Sterne 63 65 68, Trevor Fisher Jnr 66 62 68

201 - Jaco Van Zyl 66 68 67, Felipe Aguilar (CHL) 67 66 68, Charl Schwartzel 68 65 68, George Coetzee 67 64 70

202 - Peter Uihlein (USA) 65 69 68

203 - Garth Mulroy 70 68 65, Thomas Aiken 67 70 66, Lorenzo Gagli (ITA) 67 68 68, David Drysdale (SCO) 68 67 68, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 68 66 69

204 - Tom Lewis (ENG) 72 65 67, Dean Burmester 67 68 69, Ricardo Santos (POR) 70 65 69, Keith Horne 67 66 71

205 - Paul Waring (ENG) 71 67 67, Danie van Tonder 68 70 67, Justin Walters 71 67 67, Brandon Pieters 69 69 67, James Kamte 70 67 68, Tjaart van der Walt 67 69 69, Bryce Easton 65 70 70

206 - Robert-Jan Derksen (NED) 69 70 67, Lee Slattery (ENG) 67 72 67, Hennie Otto 70 67 69, George Murray (SCO) 71 66 69, James Kingston 66 70 70, Oliver Fisher (ENG) 68 68 70, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 70 66 70, Darren Fichardt 67 69 70, Tyrone Mordt 65 70 71, Richard Finch (ENG) 67 68 71, MJ Daffue 65 70 71

207 - Ulrich van den Berg 71 68 68, Steve Webster (ENG) 71 67 69, Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 67 71 69, Gary Boyd (ENG) 67 71 69, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 67 70 70, Tyrone Ferreira 66 70 71, Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 63 72 72, Jose Manuel Lara (ESP) 69 65 73

208 - Allan Versfeld 66 73 69, Jaco Ahlers 71 68 69, Phillip Price (WAL) 68 71 69, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 66 72 70, Jacques Blaauw 70 67 71

209 - Justin Harding 69 70 70, Jake Redman 66 71 72, Espen Kofstad (NOR) 66 71 72, Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 65 71 73, Bjorn Akesson (SWE) 69 67 73, Oliver Bekker 68 68 73

210 - Michael Hollick 70 69 71, Bradford Vaughan 69 70 71, Alexandre Kaleka (FRA) 66 73 71, Scott Henry (SCO) 69 70 71, David Horsey (ENG) 66 72 72, Andy Sullivan (ENG) 68 70 72, Ockie Strydom 66 71 73, Merrick Bremner 68 69 73

211 - PH McIntyre 72 67 72, Peter Hedblom (SWE) 72 67 72, Graeme Storm (ENG) 76 62 73, Lasse Jensen(DEN) 68 70 73

212 - Jbe’ Kruger 68 70 74

213 - Gregory Havret (FRA) 70 69 74

214 - Gary Lockerbie (ENG) 70 69 75

219 - Joshua Cunliffe 67 70 82