Justin Harding and Jean Hugo made the most of moving day at the Lombard Insurance Classic when they both shot 64s to share the lead on 14-under for the week, ahead of the final round at Royal Swazi Spa Country Club.
The bogeys Harding made on 11 and 16 were cancelled out by two eagles on the fifth and 12th holes, plus the six birdies he made during the round.
‘I played nicely today; it was good fun. I’m just happy to put myself into position and just hope I can pull it off tomorrow,’ Harding said.
‘Yesterday was a bit tough, because you started it from scratch and you’ve already got nine-under-par on the board,’ he said,
‘So, it’s always going to be a little bit tricky and you kind of feel like you need to keep your foot on the pedal the whole time, but it’s a golf course which offers up a lot of birdies.’
He is not the only one feeling this way about this course after two rounds of golf.
Co-leader Jean Hugo made eight birdies in a flawless round en route to the summit of the leaderboard ahead of the final round.
Even though he feels he left a few out there, the 18-time Sunshine Tour winner was a happy man after his round.
‘I played well today; no bogeys. It felt like I left a couple out there, but 64 on any day is a good score,’ said the veteran Hugo.
‘But, I am happy with the golf. I made a couple of mistakes yesterday, but today was better; no mistakes. It’s a good position to be in for the weekend.’
JJ Senekal moved to third on the leaderboard after he carded a six-under 66 to total 13-under-par.
‘I have been playing nicely the last three events,’ he said.
‘And, I shot 13-under, 12-under and again 13 today, so the golf is there.
‘The golf is good and mentally I’m at a right place.’
He admits to having underestimated the greens on the 10th where he made bogey. He followed that up with another bogey and, he says that was down to a bad tee shot to begin with.
Another player who played himself into contention was Ulrich van den Berg, whose perfect round also produced a 64 which places him fourth on the leaderboard.
Six birdies and an eagle took his total for the tournament to 12-under-par, which ensured he leapfrogged veteran Doug McGuigan, who shares fourth with overnight leader Oliver Bekker at 11-under for the tournament.
Zimbabwe’s Mark Williams also didn’t drop a shot as he signed for a six-under-par 66 round, which ties him to eighth position with Hennie du Plessis, Jared Harvey, Michael Palmer and rookie Luke Jerling on 10-under.
Second round scores:
130 – Justin Harding 66 64, Jean Hugo 66 64
131 – JJ Senekal 65 66
132 – Ulrich van den Berg 68 64, Zack Byrd 63 69
133 – Doug McGuigan 65 68, Oliver Bekker 63 70
134 – Mark Williams 68 66, Hennie du Plessis 70 64, Luke Jerling 68 66, Michael Palmer 67 67, Jared Harvey 69 65
135 – Vaughn Groenewald 67 68, Peter Karmis 70 65, Lyle Rowe 66 69, Theunis Spangenberg 66 69, Neil Schietekat 68 67
136 – Martin Rominger 69 67, Louis de Jager 70 66, Jake Roos 69 67, Heinrich Bruiners 66 70, Teaghan Gauche 71 65
137 – Chris Swanepoel 67 70, Andrew Curlewis 70 67, Keenan Davidse 69 68
138 – Anthony Michael 70 68, Christiaan Basson 66 72, Jean-Paul Strydom 71 67, Toto Thimba 72 66
139 – Antonio Costa 66 73, Coert Groenewald 69 70, Matias Calderon 68 71
140 – Andre de Decker 68 72, Mark Murless 68 72, Adilson Da Silva 73 67, Matthew Carvell 69 71, Alex Haindl 72 68, Titch Moore 70 70, Stefan Engell Andersen 67 73
141 – Stephen Ferreira 71 70, Jason Viljoen 68 73, CJ du Plessis 74 67, Gert Myburgh 72 69, Merrick Bremner 72 69, Andrew Georgiou 68 73, Ockie Strydom 71 70, Wallie Coetsee 69 72, Herman Loubser 74 67
142 – Omar Sandys 74 68, Desne Van Den Bergh 71 71, Callum Mowat 71 71, Jaco Prinsloo 74 68, Jacques Kruyswijk 76 66, Charl Coetzee 71 71, Breyten Meyer 70 72, Francois Coetzee 70 72, Danie van Tonder 69 73
Missed the cut:
143 – Makhetha Mazibuko 70 73, N.J. Arnoldi 72 71, Jason Froneman 72 71, PH McIntyre 71 72, Colin Nel 69 74, Allan Versfeld 71 72
144 – Ryan Tipping 73 71, Steven Ferreira 72 72, Ryan Cairns 74 70
145 – Michael Hollick 74 71, Ruan de Smidt 71 74, Jake Redman 73 72, Aubrey Beckley 70 75, Meshack Zwane 73 72, Bradford Vaughan 72 73, Tyrone Ferreira 74 71, Lindani Ndwandwe 76 69
146 – Greg Bentley 77 69, Stuart Smith 77 69, MJ Viljoen 73 73, Gerard du Plooy 76 70, Altaaf Bux 74 72
147 – Grant Muller 71 76, Rhys West 72 75
148 – Combrinck Smit 72 76
153 – Tyrone Ryan 78 75
DSQ – Martin Rohwer 69
