Ockie Strydom closed with consecutive birdies on Friday to card a 65 in the second round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Sishen Golf Club and will take a three-stroke lead into the final round.
That 65 was the best of the day, and it pulled him clear of Chris Swanepoel in second on seven-under. In a share of third were Trevor Fisher Jnr and Victor Lange, who each carded 67s to be at six-under after 36 holes.
There have been two factors at play in putting Strydom in position to win a maiden Sunshine Tour title that has been a long time coming: He has learnt to keep anger in check during a round, and he has regained a draw as the go-to shape to his shots.
‘My wife has been really helpful with things,’ he said. ‘She said, “Just do what you do, stay patient and don’t get angry.” That was the main thing. I kept myself calm the whole two rounds now and I’ve played some phenomenal golf.’
With golf being as frustrating as it can be, keeping calm is a major asset, especially for Strydom who now has 11 second places behind his name on the Sunshine Tour – as well as three on the Big Easy Tour.
‘I have worked hard on that side of my game,’ he added.
‘I had a few words from my dad, as well. He said if I get angry, I just make things worse. When you stay calm, anything can happen and that has showed in the past two days.’
As for the draw, it’s a return to what has brought him so close to a victory.
‘The swing’s good,’ he said. ‘I worked hard on it with my coach in June and July in George at Oubaai. We worked hard on getting rid of the fade. I’m hitting a draw now. I always played my best golf with a draw. Everything is coming off the club exactly like I want it, so I aim it just right of the hole, draw it back and see what happens then.’
He found the change quite simple, eventually.
‘I’m a little bit easy upstairs,’ he laughed. ‘So to change it is not a problem. To understand it is a different story for me, but my coach worked hard with my head as well.’
While Strydom’s round was bogey-free, Swanepoel started and finished his with the only two bogeys on his card. But for those two holes, his was an impressive round with six birdies.
Fisher also made two bogeys in his 67, while the left-handed Lange made just one as that pair found themselves a shot ahead of Stephen Ferreira, overnight leader Thriston Lawrence and another lefty in Luke Jerling.
Of course, they all have a chance of chasing down Strydom, but the leader is feeling pretty confident heading into the final round.
‘This form has been coming a long time now,’ said Strydom. ‘I’ve been in the running the whole time, and now I’ve just got to get the finishing off work done. But mentally, I’m strong enough for that, so I’ll take tomorrow as it comes.’
Leaderboard:
134 – Ockie Strydom 69 65
137 – Chris Swanepoel 69 68
138 – Trevor Fisher Jnr 71 67, Victor Lange 71 67
139 – Stephen Ferreira 71 68, Luke Jerling 70 69, Thriston Lawrence 68 71
140 – Philip Geerts 73 67, Michael Palmer 70 70, Neil Schietekat 73 67, Toto Thimba 72 68, Daniel van Tonder 70 70, Riekus Nortje 71 69
141 – Herman Loubser 69 72, Deon Germishuys 75 66, Alex Haindl 72 69, Yubin Jung 71 70, Hennie Otto 71 70, CJ du Plessis 71 70
142 – Clinton Grobler 73 69, Ryan Tipping 68 74, Michael Hollick 68 74, Louis Albertse 69 73, Thato Mazibuko 70 72
143 – Jacques Blaauw 72 71, Jean Hugo 73 70, Erhard Lambrechts 71 72, Juran Dreyer 73 70, Allister de Kock 70 73, Stefan Wears-Taylor 70 73, Hendrikus Stoop 72 71, Anton Haig 70 73, Jake Roos 72 71, MJ Viljoen 71 72
144 – Jared Harvey 75 69, Titch Moore 72 72, Kyle McClatchie 73 71, Doug McGuigan 73 71, Madalitso Muthiya 69 75, Dylan Naidoo 74 70, DK Kim 71 73, Jonathan Waschefort 70 74, Ruan Botha 73 71, Heinrich Bruiners 73 71, James Hart du Preez 71 73, Lyle Rowe 71 73, Estiaan Conradie 71 73, Keenan Davidse 69 75, Vaughn Groenewald 69 75, Rhys West 72 72
Missed the cut:
145 – Ruan Huysamen 73 72, Benjamin Follett-Smith 72 73, Tyrone Ryan 73 72, Basil Wright 69 76, Merrick Bremner 73 72, JJ Senekal 70 75, Jbe’ Kruger 73 72, Darin de Smidt 73 72, Andre Nel 70 75, Wayne Stroebel 72 73
146 – Breyten Meyer 74 72, Alpheus Kelapile 72 74, Ruan Conradie 72 74, Jaco Ahlers 72 74, Callum Mowat 75 71, Ruan de Smidt 73 73, Peetie van der Merwe 75 71, Dayne Moore 75 71, Duane Keun 75 71
147 – Ruan Korb 73 74, Thanda Mavundla 75 72, Wallie Coetsee 69 78, Aubrey Beckley 73 74, Jacquin Hess 76 71, Chris Cannon 75 72, Matt Bright 74 73, Matthew Rushton 69 78, Hayden Griffiths 76 71, Teaghan Gauche 74 73, Fredrik From 77 70, Jaco Prinsloo 73 74, Thabiso Ngcobo 72 75, Andrew van der Knaap 71 76
148 – Altaaf Bux 75 73, Jacques P de Villiers 73 75, Bradley Diggeden 74 74, Kyle Barker 72 76, Paul Boshoff 74 74, Martin Rohwer 77 71, Wynand Dingle 72 76, Jonathan Agren 79 69, Cameron Moralee 73 75
149 – Christiaan Basson 72 77, James Kamte 75 74, Pieter Moolman 78 71
150 – David McIntyre 76 74, Combrinck Smit 76 74, Makhetha Mazibuko 75 75, Rourke van der Spuy 76 74, Franklin Manchest 75 75
151 – Bennie van der Merwe 73 78, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 76 75, Keelan van Wyk 77 74, Jason Diab 77 74, Jade Buitendag 74 77
152 – Roberto Lupini 77 75, James Pennington 79 73, Theunis Bezuidenhout 81 71, Derick Petersen 81 71
153 – Dylan Kok 80 73, Jake Redman 80 73, Theunis Spangenberg 81 72, PH McIntyre 75 78
154 – Arno Pretorius 81 73, Sean Bradley 74 80
156 – Dylan Mostert 78 78
157 – Cameron Esau 81 76, Teboho Sefatsa 77 80
158 – Mike Maile 75 83
