Dean Burmester and Caleb Surratt share the lead heading into the final day of the PIF Saudi International. Germans fall behind.
Friday marked the penultimate day of the PIF Saudi International on the Asian Tour. Martin Kaymer and Maximilian Rottluff both saw their hopes of contending for the title fade after disappointing rounds. Kaymer, who had posted solid scores over the first two days, struggled to maintain momentum and carded a 1-under-par 70, placing him T38 heading into Saturday. Rottluff finished even par for the day, landing at T60. At the top of the leaderboard, American Caleb Surratt and South African Dean Burmester sit tied at 17-under-par after three rounds.
Mixed fortunes for Kaymer at PIF Saudi International
Martin Kaymer endured a frustrating third round, marred by missed opportunities and costly mistakes. He started strong with a birdie on the opening hole and added another on the 9th, offsetting a bogey on the 5th to make the turn at 1-under. However, the LIV golfer faltered on the back nine. A bogey on the 12th was followed by a birdie on the 13th, but back-to-back bogeys on the 14th and 15th left him 1-over with three holes to play. He managed to finish on a high note, carding birdies on the 16th and 18th to close with a 70 and sit at 6-under overall.
Maximilian Rottluff had a rough start, opening with a double bogey on the first hole and adding another bogey on the 5th. He bounced back with birdies on the 7th, 11th, and 13th to return to even par. A bogey on the 16th was canceled out by a birdie on the 18th, resulting in an even-par round and a T60 position heading into the final day.
Burmester surges to the top with flawless play
Dean Burmester continued his impressive form on Friday, following up a 63 on Thursday with a 64 to join the lead. After a modest 69 on Wednesday, Burmester has gone 37 holes without dropping a shot. His Friday round featured three birdies on the front nine and four more on the back, including one on his final hole to secure a share of the lead.
Caleb Surratt, who had played near-flawless golf over the first two days—including six consecutive birdies on Wednesday—surrendered his solo lead after two early bogeys on holes 1 and 4. However, he rallied with five birdies over the final ten holes to finish with a 3-under-par round and remain tied at the top with Burmester.