Erik van Rooyen continued his impressive recent form on the European Challenge Tour by carding a blemish-free 65 to take the halfway lead at the Hainan Open.
The South African has been in contention on numerous occasions this season, most recently in Kazakhstan, where he took a one-shot lead into the final round before finishing fourth, and as a result he sits in tenth place in the Road to Oman Rankings.
Starting the day one shot behind leader Steven Brown, Van Rooyen immediately overtook his competitor by bagging four consecutive birdies over his first four holes.
The big-hitting 27-year-old carded a further gain at the par five sixth before finishing with back-to-back birdies at the 17th and 18th.
It could have been even better for Van Rooyen, who was inches away from holing out for an eagle on the par five 18th after an excellent approach shot from the heart of the fairway.
But after just two dropped shots over 36 holes, Van Rooyen was delighted with his two days’ work – which he credits to arriving in China early.
‘I flew to Sanya early and I think that has made a huge difference,’ he said. ‘I arrived on Saturday then I had Sunday to recover before three practice days.
‘The conditions have been really tough with the heat and the humidity, but I feel that this course suits me and I am starting to get used to the greens – they are very different to what we have in Europe and South Africa.
‘I have been hitting it great and putting really well over the last two or three months, and I felt like that has just carried on into this week.
‘I found myself five-under through six holes, and although things evened out slightly, I did really well to birdie the last two.
‘I was so close to holing my wedge shot at 18 – I was left with an easy tap-in birdie – which was very satisfying as I have been working on my wedge play a lot recently.
‘I am definitely starting to feel more comfortable leading after being in this position a lot this year. The more you do it, the better you feel in that position, and I feel like I am in a place now where I can continue to play good golf throughout the weekend without nerves.
‘That experience of being in contention on a regular basis is such a key one, and is something I will take away from this Challenge Tour season.’
Credit: European Tour
Photo: File
