But Norris retaliated immediately with two straight birdies and then notched off five pars in a row before nailing three birdies in the space of four holes to press his advantage.
When Norris used his driver on 15 he pulled his shot behind a tree on the left. He punched out and then got onto the green and two-putted to limit the damage to one shot.
“You’re not going to be perfect all the time. You’re going to hit some bad shots here and there, but it’s how you handle the rest of the round.”
Saddier, who also found trees on the 15th, had to settle for double bogey, surrendering Norris more space at the top.
Kruyswijk was hoping to be in the final group with Norris on Sunday. “We can have a nice battle out there,” he said with a smile.
“It was a bit of a grind,” he said. “I felt like I left a lot of shots out there, a couple of putts brushed past … If I \[get\] a couple in tomorrow, I’m looking forward to it.”
The biggest mover of the day was Robin Williams, firing a flawless six-under-par 64 to finish the round on eight under in a seven-way tie for fifth spot. He eagled the first hole, driving into the greenside bunker and then splashing in.
“Obviously this morning was a lot easier than they probably had it yesterday afternoon and the day before. The greens were a lot better, it wasn't so much traffic on them.
“And then the wind was basically non-existent on the front nine, so I was able to take good advantage of that.”