Wilco Nienaber produced two of the finest days of golf that felt like one long day all on its own as he shot rounds of 60 and then 66 to lead the NTT Data Pro-Am by three strokes at Fancourt on Friday. MICHAEL VLISMAS reports.
Nienaber returned on Friday morning to complete his first round, which had been suspended on Thursday because of heavy rain and did so with a remarkable 60 on the Outeniqua. That earned him a three-stroke lead over Jacques Blaauw and Eddie Pepperell on 12-under 67.
After a short break he teed off his second round on The Links and signed for a 66 to climb to 19 under par overall, and yet to drop a shot in this year’s tournament.
Nienaber with another birdie at the 8th 🐦
He moves to 14 under par. #NTTDATAProAm pic.twitter.com/SQ1PlDWdQr
— HotelPlanner Tour (@HPlanner_Tour) February 14, 2025
Blaauw is his nearest challenger on 16 under following a 66 of his own on The Links, while Kyle Barker moved into contention on 13-under 67 and Jovan Rebula reached the halfway stage on 12-under-par 67.
A birdie finish for Blaauw 👏
He moves into second place in George.#NTTDATAProAm pic.twitter.com/AEoBawcAbY
— HotelPlanner Tour (@HPlanner_Tour) February 14, 2025
“That was a long two days, but very cool,” said Nienaber. “It was a long morning in the first round [with the delays] and we only teed off after 4pm. Outeniqua is always a tricky one because you know you have to score so if you don’t get off to a good start you feel like you’re chasing, so I was very happy with that.”
There is placing this week so his 60 is not an official course record, but it was nevertheless an incredible round of golf to witness.
Nienaber teed off his first round at the 10th and was six under par through nine holes when darkness brought an end to play on Thursday.
“The whole of that evening I was thinking about a 59,” he said.
He returned on Friday morning and eagled his second hole of the day. Then came four consecutive birdies on his way to his final hole of the round – the par-four 9th.
“But then I hit a poor putt on the last to finish with a par,” he said.
He carried his momentum onto The Links and cemented his place at the top of the leaderboard, and in a tournament which he won in 2021.
“I really like The Links. It’s very unique and it always feels like a privilege to play it. I’m in a good position for the weekend and I won’t change a thing.”
Photo:Sunshine Tour
