Unheralded Pretoria professional Chris Swanepoel flew to the top of a logjam leader board on Friday to set the stage for a thrilling finale to the inaugural SAA Pro-Am Invitational at Paarl Golf Club.
The easy-going 21-year-old capitalised on a hot putter to card an eight-under-par 64 and claim the sole lead at 13-under-par 131.
Swanepoel is one stroke ahead of last week’s Origins Tour winner, Jean Hugo, and Vredendal’s Gerlou Roux, who equalled the course record with a bogey-free 62.
Roux, who was on the bag for Hugo when he won the Finnish Open on the European Challenge Tour in 2000, blasted into contention in the late afternoon with the low round of the day, flying through the front nine in an incredible 28 shots.
Soweto’s Thabang Simon carded back-to-back 67s to finish the second round alone in fourth place on 10-under 134, while the current leader of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, Chris Williams, added a 67 to his opening 68 to claim a share of fourth on nine-under alongside Silver Lakes pro Albert Pistorius.
In what he described as the best round of his short career, Swanepoel started with back-to-back birdies at the second and third, and then erased an errant bogey at the fourth with a five birdie-fest that kicked off from the par-five sixth.
Completing a flawless home stretch, Swanepoel added two more birdies to his card at the 13th and 18th for a loop of 34.
The youngster from Zwartkops Country Club was upbeat about his round and position, predicting that he would probably feel a little nervous on Saturday morning.
”I felt comfortable out there today,” said Swanepoel, who has been in contention only once since joining the pro circuit in 2003. ”There was a little wind and the pins were a little tougher, so you really had to make sure you hit the green on the right side.
”But my game was solid. Last week I struggled in the wind with the new set of Mizuno MP60s, but this week I’m striking the ball really well and I relied heavily on my putter.
”I played the front nine a little more aggressively, but a couple of the holes coming home were into the wind, so I slowed it down and just focused on keeping the bogeys off my card.”
Even though his experience in playing with the front-runners is limited to a less-than-satisfying performance at Dimension Data earlier this year, the buoyant youth is looking forward to playing with Hugo and Roux.
”I don’t really know Gerlou, but he shot an amazing round today and you have to respect that. Jean is a great guy and on top of his game again. It’s always nice to play with someone like that. It lifts your own game and keeps you focused.
”This course is great. There are enough challenges out there and the greens can get tricky — you have to pay attention. I am just happy to be in contention.”
The leaders have a pretty neat cushion, but there is no ignoring the chasing pack, especially now that the have upped the ante with an invitation for the SAA Open at Humewood in December.
Among the challengers that cannot be discounted are overnight leader Doug McGuigan, veteran Bobby Lincoln and 2006 Stanbic Zambia Open winner Steve Basson from Parow Golf Club.
The second-round cut, set at two-under-par 142, left 48 players in the field for the final round on Saturday. — Sapa