Stellenbosch Golf Club member Oliver Bekker shot the low score of the morning in the second round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. In extremely unfavourable conditions Bekker shot a three-under-par 69 while Trophee Hassan II winner Jeunghun Wang backed up his opening 69 with a solid 70 to be well placed going into the weekend.
The 2013 Telkom PGA Champion started the front nine in rollercoaster fashion, a bogey on the fourth and eighth was complimented with an eagle on the seventh and birdie on the ninth to go out in one-under-par 35. His back nine was more consistent with three birdies and one bogey in tricky conditions at Four Seasons Golf Club in Anahita.
Bekker’s level-par total after two rounds leaves him in a tie for 14th, six shots back of the leader. Although the 2012 Dimension Data Pro-Am champion has ground to make up, he will feel he has a chance after moving on a tough day in Mauritius.
Meanwhile Korean Jeunghun Wang backed up an opening 69 with a solid 70 to sit only one shot back of overnight leader Andrew Dodt. The weather conditions also played a significant part in Wang’s round. Opening on the 10th, his front nine had one drop shot along with two birdies and eagle to go out in an excellent three-under-par 33. A torrid second nine for Wang yielded only one birdie and he signed for 70.
The afternoon field may be in for an unpleasant surprise considering Bekker’s 69 was the best round of the morning. No one else has been able to break 70. The highest round of the day was 84 (Jason Knutzon, Khalin Joshi), while 46 other players failed to break par, meaning anything in the red will be seen as progress.
