Rookie Purchase chasing Fortress Invitational glory

Sunshine Tour rookie Warwick Purchase turned up the heat on a cold day at Glendower Golf Club with a third round of 10-under-par 62 that earned him a three-stroke lead in the Fortress Invitational.

Purchase heads the field on 17 under par following a round which included a front nine of 28 and featured a total of nine birdies, an eagle and one bogey.

His nearest challenger is Kyle Barker on 14 under par following his third round of 66, with Daniel van Tonder (69) and Tyrone Ryan (68) on 12 under par.

It was an incredible day of golf with Purchase’s 62 and both Barker and Ryan scoring holes-in-one. Barker aced the 201-metre par-three eighth hole with a seven iron, while Ryan holed out with a gap wedge on the 125-metre par -three fifth hole.

“Today’s round was pretty insane and probably the best of my life, especially that front-nine,” said Purchase.

“I wasn’t thinking too much and was just hitting golf shots. The next minute I shot 28 on the front nine. I also managed to keep it really solid on the back nine, which was playing a bit tougher. Overall, it was a good day where my mindset was perfect.”

Warwick Purchase put on a putting masterclass on his to carding a third round 62. ✍️ 📈 #FortressInvitations pic.twitter.com/aWnBDD5Ejb

— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) October 18, 2025

Purchase missed the cut in his last four tournaments before this. And after a second round of 71 he also put in even more work on his game, which showed on Saturday.

“I didn’t have a great putting round on Friday so I did quite a bit of practice after the round. My swing also fell into a nice groove today and I decided to be a bit braver and play more aggressively.”

Currently ranked in the top 10 on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings, Purchase is preparing himself for the new experience of leading a Sunshine Tour event going into the final round.

“It’s foreign territory for me on the Sunshine Tour, so I think a little bit of thought needs to go into my gameplan and on how I will handle the nerves, as there will definitely be some. I’ll be playing with two big names on the Sunshine Tour – Daniel (Van Tonder) and Kyle (Barker) – so the goal will be to get myself into my own little bubble and not worry about what’s going on around me.”

SCORES

199 - Warwick Purchase 66 71 62

202 - Kyle Barker 69 67 66

204 - Tyrone Ryan 68 68 68, Daniel van Tonder 66 69 69

206 - Luis Carrera 72 70 64, Christiaan Burke 68 67 71

207 - Heinrich Bruiners 69 69 69, Deon Germishuys 67 69 71

208 - Stephen Ferreira 71 71 66, Dylan Frittelli 73 68 67, Pieter Moolman 68 72 68, Rupert Kaminski 72 67 69, Benjamin Van Wyk 65 73 70, Tyran Snyders 66 72 70, James Mack 69 69 70, Mikkel Antonsen 69 68 71, Jonathan Broomhead 68 68 72

209 - Luke Brown 69 73 67, Martin Vorster 66 75 68, CJ du Plessis 68 70 71

210 - Samuel Simpson 74 69 67, Jacques P de Villiers 72 71 67, Kieron van Wyk 69 73 68, Jaco Prinsloo 68 73 69, Graham van der Merwe 72 69 69, Trevor Fisher Jnr 71 70 69, Pierre Viallaneix 70 68 72, Benjamin Follett-Smith 65 73 72, Kyle De Beer 69 69 72, Jason Roets 67 70 73

211 - Keelan van Wyk 72 71 68, Herman Loubser 73 69 69, Justin Walters 68 72 71

212 - Allen John 71 72 69, Keenan Davidse 72 70 70, Rhys Enoch 69 67 76

213 - Otto Van Buynder 70 73 70, Lyle Rowe 69 73 71, Louis Albertse 67 75 71, Karabo Mokoena 71 70 72, Neil Schietekat 70 71 72, Keegan Mclachlan 69 71 73

214 - Matthew Spacey 67 76 71, Kyle McClatchie 68 75 71, Keagan Thomas 71 72 71, Gerhard Pepler 70 72 72, JJ Senekal 70 72 72, Michael Hollick 71 70 73, Haydn Porteous 73 68 73, Ulrich van den Berg 72 67 75

215 - Hennie Otto 68 73 74

216 - Keanu Pestana 75 68 73

217 - Hayden Griffiths 71 72 74

218 - Ryan van der Klis 72 70 76

222 - Thomas Spreadborough 70 70 82

MISSED THE CUT:-

144 - Jean Hugo 76 68, Nikhil Rama 71 73, Rhys West 72 72, Ruan Korb 71 73, Jacquin Hess 71 73, Christian Kriek 73 71, Tumelo Molloyi 69 75, Hennie O'Kennedy 76 68, Peter Karmis 73 71, Ethan Smith 71 73, Joe Long 70 74, Ricky Hendler 71 73, Luke Jerling 67 77, Jordan Burnand 69 75, Gregory Mckay 70 74, Quintin Wilsnach 70 74

145 - Leon Vorster 72 73, MJ Viljoen 73 72, Franklin Manchest 71 74, Brandon Meads 77 68, Toto Thimba Jnr 71 74, Wynand Dingle 71 74, Rowan Lester 71 74, Anthony Michael 72 73, Stals Swart 68 77

146 - Makhetha Mazibuko 76 70, Albert Venter 69 77, Jacques Blaauw 74 72, Dylan Mostert 72 74, Yurav Premlall 74 72, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 73 73, George Coetzee 74 72, Conner Mackenzie 74 72, Werner Deyzel 72 74

147 - Zachary Chegwidden 74 73, Christiaan Basson 75 72, Estiaan Conradie 73 74, Siyanda Mwandla 73 74, Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 74 73, Ross Wellington 73 74, Liam Grehan 74 73

148 - Xander Basson 73 75, Altin van der Merwe 71 77, Stuart Krog 71 77, Jean-Paul Strydom 72 76, Malcolm Mitchell 71 77, Kian Rose 73 75

149 - Keelan Africa 75 74, Callum Mowat 78 71, Robson Chinhoi 75 74, Jack Hawksby 76 73, Rourke van der Spuy 73 76, Tristen Strydom 72 77, Ruan de Smidt 74 75, Nick Cunningham 74 75

150 - Danie Van Niekerk 73 77, Ronald Rugumayo 74 76, Luca Filippi 74 76

151 - Tyron Davidowitz 79 72, Marcus Sandile Taylor 78 73, Ruan Conradie 77 74, Slenda Sithebe 75 76, Slade Pickering 70 81, Khanya Mkhize 77 74, Simon du Plooy 73 78, Joe Knox 74 77

152 - Jason Broomhead 76 76, Eric Wowor 79 73, Trevor Mahoney 75 77, Paul Boshoff 77 75

153 - Thabiso Ngcobo 75 78, Shaunak Rama 77 76, Luke Mayo 72 81, Kayle Wykes 76 77, Ruan Groenewald 81 72

154 - Nyasha Muyambo 78 76

155 - Tomas Gana 78 77, Sentanio Minnie 81 74, Jastice Mashego 75 80, James Pennington 78 77

156 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 78 78

157 - Harry Konig 75 82, Mark Maart 75 82, Tristin Galant 71 86

159 - Jordan Duminy 83 76, Umar Davids 80 79

162 - Merrick Bremner 81 81, Jake Redman 83 79

163 - Mandla Dlamini Jnr 78 85

WDN - Allister de Kock 80 WDN, Thanda Mavundla 85 WDN