Hennie du Plessis earned himself a one-shot lead going into the weekend of the MyGolfLife Open at Pecanwood.
He added a 65 to his opening 62 to lead the field on 17 under par.
Spain’s Nacho Elvira and Pablo Larrazabal and South Africa’s Tristen Strydom are his nearest challengers just one shot back. Elvira and Strydom signed for second rounds of 66 on Friday while Larrazabal posted a 65.
With strong support as the local favourite here at Pecanwood, Du Plessis was six under for his round through 15 holes and tied for the lead at this point. He then holed a tremendous eagle putt on the par-five seventh hole – playing as his 16th – that took him two shots clear. But then a bogey on the last drew him back to just one shot clear.
“It was hard work out there because I had to stay patient,” said Du Plessis. “The greens were a bit more tricky. So there was a lot of grinding out there and a lot of patience required. But my game has been good all week and I’m happy with my score.”
The weekend will bring more of the same pressure to keep playing attacking golf on a course that is certainly rewarding the field with some very low scores.
Larrazabal has said he’s “ready for the birdie festival” that the weekend will bring.
“That’s the only strategy. This is a tournament where many guys will be shooting lows 60s. The course is there for a 59. You have to go out there and make as many birdies as you can and try to reach 30 under par. That’s the number. When they told me that on Tuesday I didn’t believe it, but now I believe 30 is a great number to aim for.”
As for Du Plessis, his strategy won’t change too much on a golf course he knows extremely well.
“I’ve been doing something right so I’m just going to relax with my family tonight, have a braai and get back at it on Saturday.
“If you keep hitting good shots and stay patient it will happen on this course. I’ll just keep focusing on my targets and enjoy it.”
