Kristoffer Reitan leads Nedbank Golf Challenge by five shots despite late stumble

Reitan, who secured his maiden DP World Tour title at the Soudal Open in May this year, produced a brilliant burst of scoring around the turn on Saturday to build an eight-shot lead before play was suspended for just over two hours in the late afternoon due to thunder and lightning in the area.

When the action resumed at 17.45 local time, the Norwegian parred the 16th and 17th but closed his round with a double bogey after getting into trouble at the 18th.

Despite the disappointing finish, he sits at 17 under par with 18 holes remaining and in pole position to claim a second victory of the calendar year and his first of the 2026 season.

"I'm very disappointed with the finish on the 18th, but I guess a good double in the end. It's just clear evidence that if you don't hit it in the right spots, then you can get severely punished," he said.

"But overall, good today. I think I got out of some tricky situations - I did that well. I think longevity wise, I think hitting it just that little bit better would be good. But overall, with the score today, I'm happy.

"I think I did a good job, I think. I hit some good shots, but also when I was out of position, hit some good shots there as well to get me out of trouble.

"And my putter was rolling nicely as well. It's kind of weird because the round just goes into a blur at this point. It's a long time since we teed off, but yeah, a lot of good stuff today.

"I look forward to waking up in the morning and starting the day off fresh. It's a cool challenge that I have ahead of me. I'm looking forward to that and hope to deal with it in a decent manner."

Home favourite Jayden Schaper was Reitan's nearest challenger on 12 under par after making eight birdies and two bogeys in his 66.

South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and England's Dan Bradbury were two shots further back in a tie for third.