The story of Friday’s second round at the Dunhill Championship was more about the losers than the winners.
After shooting a five-under-par 67 on Thursday to lie one shot off leader Bruce McDonald of Zimbabwe at the Leopard Creek Golf Course, tournament favourite Ernie Els played a slovenly back nine on Friday to shoot a three-over-par 75.
That left him on two-under 142 for the tournament and five shots adrift of Peter Gustafsson of Sweden. The 30-year-old Swede shot a four-under 68 to add to his 69 on Thursday, which — at seven under — put him two shots clear of South Africans Warren Abery and Des Terblanche and Englishmen Neil Cheetham and Oliver Whiteley.
Another stroke back lie Scot Euan Little and Swede Leif Westerberg, as well as South Africans David Frost and Charl Schwartzel.
Abery and Cheetham are the only names from Thursday that remained on the leaderboard as the challenge of Els, McDonald, James Kamte and Frenchmen Raphael Eyraud and Benoit Teilleria all receded.
Both McDonald and Kamte, who was two behind the leader on Thursday, fired four-over 76s on Friday to lie on two under and level par respectively.
What else changed was the weather. The cool, wet conditions of the past few days dissipated to leave it sunny, hot and humid with temperatures rising to about 35 degrees Celsius.
”I have been living in the south of Spain, so I am used to the heat,” said Gustafsson, ”but it is not like this. There is also a little bit of wind which makes this course extremely tough.”
The Swede, who started his round on the 10th, had only one blemish on his card at the par-five second when he pulled a seven iron way left and ended up with a bogey. Ironically, the second hole has produced the most birdies so far.
”At that point I was on a roll. I had birdied 17, 18 and the first, so stepping up to the second I was expecting to make another birdie. After I pulled the seven-iron I had a chance to hit a good shot but I duffed it.”
Gustafsson pulled it back, though, with a birdie on three and then coasted home with all pars.
This is his first visit to South Africa but is hoping to come back in January for the second European Tour event — the SAA Open in January.
”That’s if I get in,” he added.
Terblanche played an inconsistent round comprising six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
”I’m hitting my driver a bit wild but the rest of my game is quite good,” commented the burly 39-year-old. ”If I could hit a few fairways I ‘d play pretty well here.”
He added that it was tough to concentrate in the heat.
”The back nine is taking so long because all the players are battling. There is no bale out there … you have to hit the right shot.”
Abery said he was feeling quite confident this week but he would take it one day at a time.
”I’ve been hitting the ball well lately and I knew if I just kept hitting fairways and greens, which is what I’ve been doing all week, and putting well, I would be able to convert a few birdies.”
After a birdie on the first, Abery bogeyed five and seven to turn one-over for the day. But he had a clean slate on the back nine with birdies on all three par-fives 13, 15 and 18.
Els played the front nine well enough with birdies on the par-five second and par-four-sixth. He did drop a shot at the eighth but still turned one-under for his round.
But all started going wrong for Els at the par-five 13th. His drive dropped into the stream that runs through and then along the left side of the fairway. Els took a drop and attempted to fade the ball left on to the green. However, it moved too far and again found the water, which resulted in a double bogey.
His ball must have had a homing device attached when he teed off on the par-five 15th because the ball moved towards the veranda of his house on the golfing estate. Unfortunately, his veranda is out of bounds and Els had to reload off the tee.
That mistake resulted in a second double bogey and matters got even worse when his tee shot at the par-three 16 went over the back of the green. Els chipped back past the hole and then missed a 10-footer for par.
Fortunately, he steady the ship with a par on 17 and a birdie at the par-five 18th.
The shot of the day, however, came from Swede Johan Skold who aced the 176m par-three 12th using a seven iron.
The cut was made at four-over-par. — Sapa