Van Zyl takes 2-shot lead in French Open

South Africa's Jaco Van Zyl. (Peter Morrison/AP)

PARIS — Jaco Van Zyl will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the French Open and a shot at a maiden European Tour title after carding a 7-under-par 64 on Saturday.

Van Zyl has won 13 times on the Sunshine Tour, and has 17 top-10 finishes on the European Tour, including two this season while playing on a medical exemption with a brace on his leg.

His bogey-free round included a tap-in seventh and final birdie on his last hole.

"Today was really a phenomenal round," he said after reaching a 10-under total of 203.

Maximilian Kieffer of Germany, also chasing his first European Tour title, was two back after shooting a bogey-free 65 and rising seven places.

Bernd Wiesberger of Austria was alone in third at 7 under thanks to a 66.

In a three-way tie for fourth were 2009 champion Martin Kaymer (69), home favourite Victor Dubuisson (69), and Spanish Open champ James Morrison of England (68).

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.