Singapore: South Africa stayed on course for a maiden World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) title as Christiaan Maas continued his mastery of the Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course.

While their pursuers struggled to keep up with South Africa’s blistering pace in the sweltering Singapore conditions, Maas made hay in the sunshine, showing no signs of letting up in his relentless birdie spree.

Having opened with back-to-back 66s, Maas went one better in round three, a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 propelling his country into a seemingly impregnable position atop the leaderboard.

With team-mate and fellow University of Texas standout Daniel Bennett contributing a 67, South Africa posted a day three team total of 12-under 132 in the event in which the best two daily scores in each three-man team are counted.

That stunning performance saw the South Africans move to 26-under, extending their five-shot overnight lead to 11 from Australia and Mexico in joint second place.

In the individual standings, Maas is on 19-under 197 – 10 shots in front of Australian Declan O’Donovan and Norway's Michael Mjaaseth.

“I’m happy where we are,” said Maas, who is sixth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Despite such a handsome advantage, he assured there will be no complacency from the leaders. “We haven’t won yet. I hope we lead by 15 shots tomorrow.”

Asked about Maas’s performance, South African captain Gavin Groves said: “That is some impressive golf. I mean, the birdies are one thing, but some of the par saves he’s made … he misses the greens in the right spots and makes it easier for himself. It’s obviously a lot of golf to go still, 18 holes, but we’d rather be 11 ahead than 11 behind.

"We’re a proud sporting nation and there’s a lot of great golfing heritage. To be able to put this kind of championship on the proverbial wall would be amazing. We just have to cross that bridge tomorrow afternoon."

Maas and Bennett were 11-under through 12 holes together before Bennett recorded a double-bogey on the par-four 13th. He got those shots back on 17 and 18, finishing birdie-birdie to complete his best round of the week. Maas tallied five consecutive pars, adding his seventh birdie of the day at the 18th. Team-mate Charl Barnard recorded a non-counting 75.

Mexico, with a blemish-free, eight-under 64 from Eduardo Derbez and a 73 from Gerardo Gómez, stayed in medallist contention. Derbez notched six birdies in a row on the outward nine and closed out his round with an eagle on the par-five 18th. After opting to use driver on his 290-yard approach shot, he then chipped in from just off the green. After signing for the low round of the week so far, Derbez, the third University of Texas Longhorn in the field, said: “I felt really good today. I think I didn’t miss a single fairway.”  

O’Donovan enjoyed a bogey-free round of his own, tallying four birdies en route to a 68. Billy Dowling, who was one-over with three holes to play, nearly aced the par-three 16th, tapping in for birdie and recorded two more on his way in for a two-under 70 that included seven birdies and five bogeys. Australia posted a second consecutive six-under 138, with Harry Takis recording a non-counting 79.

Hosts Singapore were led by 16-year-old Troy Storm in the third round. He posted his first counting score of the week, an even-par 72. Hiroshi Tai, who recorded a 65 in the first round, carded a counting 75 in the third round. Singapore is joint 22nd and is seeking its best finish in the championship, which is solo 21st.

Following a disastrous opening round which saw them languishing in joint 32nd place in the 26-nation event, the highly-rated United States trio of Preston Stout, Ethan Fang and Mason Howell has stirred.

For the second day in a row they had a team total of five-under 139, lifting them eight spots into a share of 14th place. Although they’re no fewer than 22 shots behind the leaders and have only the remotest of chances of defending their title, they’ll have pride to play for in the final round.

Not once in the history of the Eisenhower Trophy, which was inaugurated in 1958, have a US team finished outside the top-10 in the final standings. Stout, Fang and Howell will not wish to have such an ignominy added to their curriculum vitaes.

Leading Team Scores 

406 – South Africa 139-135-132 (Christiaan Maas 66-66-65; Daniel Bennett 73-69-67; Charl Barnard 75-76-75)
417 – Mexico 137-143-137 (Carlos Astiazaran 68-71-73; Eduardo Derbez 69-78-64; Gerardo Gomez 73-72-73); Australia 141-138-138 (Declan O’Donovan 70-69-68; Billy Dowling 71-71-70; Harry Takis 71-69-79)
420 – England 142-137-141 (Charlie Forster 71-69-73; Eliot Baker 71-72-72; Tyler Weaver 73-68-69)
421 – France 140-139-142 (Hugo Le Goff 70-75-72; Oscar Couilleau 70-67-71; Louis Anceaux 73-72-71)
423 – Thailand 142-140-141 (Parin Sarasmut 70-74-76; Pongsapak Laopakdee 72-70-70; Arsit Areephun 74-70-71); Denmark 144-136-143 (Oscar Holm Bredkjaer 71-67-72; Kristian Hjort Bressum 75-69-72; Claes Borregaard 73-76-71)
425 – Japan 145-137-143 (Rintaro Nakano 71-66-75, Taisei Nagasaki 74-72-68; Gunma Tamura 75-71-75)
426 – Italy 142-144-140 (Riccardo Fantinelli 73-72-70; Filippo Ponzano 71-80-70; Michele Ferrero 71-72-74)

Selected Team Scores 

428 – United States 150-139-139 (Mason Howell 75-68-71; Preston Stout 75-72-68; Ethan Fang 75-71-73)
431 – New Zealand 144-144-143 (Robby Turnbull 71-73-73; Zack Swanwick 73-71-70; Cooper Moore 76-77-73)
432 – Singapore 141-144-147 (Hiroshi Tai 65-71-75; Brayden Lee 76-73-75; Troy Storm 84-77-72)
435 – China 144-144-147 (Zhou Ziqin 71-76-71; Wu Qiyou 73-70-79; Wang Haoyi 74-74-76)
441 – Indonesia 149-148-144 (Amadeus Susanto 74-75-71; Randy Bintang 75-73-73; Asa Najib 78-76-75); Vietnam 149-146-146 (Nguyen Anh Minh 73-70-75; Ho Anh Huy 76-76-73; Nguyen Duc Son 76-76-73)
445 – India 145-150-150 (Rakshit Dahiya 72-72-76; Deepak Yadav 73-79-74; Arin Ahuja 75-78-83)
462 – Guam 156-152-154 (Markus Nanpei 75-76-78; Ivan Sablan 81-76-76; Redge Camacho 82-84-79)

Leading Individual Scores

197 – Christiaan Maas (South Africa) 66-66-65
207 – Declan O’Donovan (Australia) 70-69-68; Michael Mjaaseth (Norway) 69-70-68
208 – Oscar Couilleau (France) 70-67-71
209 – Daniel Bennett (South Africa) 73-69-67; Adam Bresnu (Morocco) 71-68-70
210 – Tyler Weaver (England) 73-68-69; Oscar Holm Bredkjaer (Denmark) 71-67-72
211 – Eduardo Derbez (Mexico) 69-78-64; Filip Fahlberg Johnsson (Sweden) 69-69-73; Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) 65-71-75

Selected Individual Scores 

212 – Pongsapak Laopakdee (Thailand) 72-70-70; Billy Dowling (Australia) 71-71-70; Carlos Astiazaran (Mexico) 68-71-73; Rintaro Nakano (Japan) 71-66-75
213 – Charlie Forster (England) 71-69-73
214 – Taisei Nagasaki (Japan) 74-72-68; Zack Swanwick (New Zealand) 73-71-70; Mason Howell (US) 75-68-71
215 – Preston Stout (US) 75-72-68; Arsit Areephun (Thailand) 74-70-71; Eliot Baker (England) 71-72-72
217 – Robby Turnbull (New Zealand) 71-73-73
218 – Zhou Ziqin (China) 71-76-71; Nguyen Anh Minh (Vietnam) 73-70-75
219 – Ethan Fang (US) 75-71-73; Harry Takis (Australia) 71-69-79
220 – Amadeus Susanto (Indonesia) 74-75-71; Rakshit Dahiya (India) 72-72-76; Parin Sarasmut (Thailand) 70-74-76
221 – Randy Bintang (Indonesia) 75-73-73; Gunma Tamura (Japan) 75-71-75
222 – Wu Qiyou (China) 73-70-79
224 – Brayden Lee (Singapore) 76-73-75; Wang Haoyi (China) 74-74-76
225 – Ho Anh Huy (Vietnam) 76-76-73; Nguyen Duc Son (Vietnam) 76-76-73
226 – Cooper Moore (New Zealand) 76-77-73; Deepak Yadav (India) 73-79-74
229 – Asa Najib (Indonesia) 78-76-75; Markus Nanpei (Guam) 75-76-78
233 – Troy Storm (Singapore) 84-77-72; Ivan Sablan (Guam) 81-76-76
236 – Arin Ahuja (India) 75-78-83
243 – Redge Camacho (Guam) 82-84-79