If birdies are the best remedy to restore a golfer’s sagging self-assurance, then a flock of birdies by Pieter Moolman on day two of the IGT Challenge Tour’s Waterkloof Challenge will certainly spark a revival of confidence for the Benoni professional.
The 26-year-old from Benoni Lake Country Club turned three under and racked up six birdies on the back nine at Waterkloof Country Club – with five of those coming over his last six holes – to charge up the leaderboard with a sparkling eight-under-par 64 on Tuesday.
With the sun splitting the skies over Tshwane, Moolman set the clubhouse target at 10 under 134. He holds a one-shot lead over Ruan Conradie and Jason Roets, and leads by two from Kenyan amateur Mohid Mediratta, Justin Turner and Ruan Korb.
Five off the pace at the start of the second round, Moolman burst from the blocks with a birdie-birdie start and added a gain at the par-four fifth. He interrupted a run of five birdies from 10, with a solitary drop at 12 and finished off in style with back-to-back birdies to record the low round of the day.
‘It’s amazing what a bit of confidence on the greens can do,’ said Moolman. ‘I lost my Sunshine Tour card at the end of 2015 and tried to fight my way back to the main circuit via the Big Easy Tour last year, but the confidence just wasn’t there.
‘The problem wasn’t the putting stroke or pace. I just couldn’t read the greens. That’s a kill shot for anyone trying to make it in the pro ranks. The moment you doubt yourself on the dance floor, that lack of confidence leaks to the rest of your game.
‘I’ve been working intensively with Emile Steinmann, the short game coach at HPC Golf Academy, and it feels like I’m slowly turning a corner. I feel like I’m gaining back the form that got me on the Sunshine Tour in 2012.’
Moolman tied for fifth in the Killarney Challenge in April and notched a top-10 finish at State Mines in early May, but he was disappointed to slip outside the top 10 at last week’s Randpark Firethorn Challenge.
‘I played nicely in the second round to move towards the leaders, but slipped to joint 18th after shooting 75 in the last round,’ he said. ‘You have to take it on the chin when you’re game is a work in progress.
‘I’ve been striking the ball really well in the last couple of months, but today I putted nicely, too and that’s the big difference. Most of my putts were inside eight feet. I hit 17 greens and had just 29 putts. I nearly holed my second at the 11th and almost aced the 15th. I’m putting myself close, but the confidence is there on the putting surface and that’s made all the difference.’
Conradie, from Wingate Park, carded a 69, while Roets from Eikenhof put himself in contention for a second time this May with a four under 68.
Mediratta shot a sublime 65 to finish two shots back in joint fourth with former Sunshine Tour player Justin Turner and Ruan Korb, who both posted rounds of 69.
Picture of Moolman courtesy of CJ du Plooy
Second Round Scores
All competitors SA unless otherwise specified and amateurs are indicated as AMA:
134 – Pieter Moolman 70 64
135 – Ruan Conradie 66 69, Jason Roets 67 68
137 – Ruan Korb 68 69, Mohit Mediratta AMA (KEN) 72 65, Justin Turner 68 69
138 – Paul De Beer 70 68
139 – Eric Nel AMA 65 74
140 – David Mofokeng (LSO) 69 71, Allister de Kock 66 74, Brendan Britten (NAM) 71 69, Cameron Esau 71 69
141 – Kyle Barker 71 70, Bryce Myburgh 71 70, Divan Marais 69 72, Matt Bright 72 69, Peetie van der Merwe AMA 73 68
142 – Theunis Bezuidenhout AMA 75 67, Quintin Crause 75 67, Patric Dowling AMA 76 66
143 – Nic Watson AMA 69 74, Eric Park (KOR) 73 70, Cameron Nesmith AMA 72 71, Andrew Williamson AMA 73 70
144 – Werner van Wyk 71 73, Keegan Steyn AMA 72 72
145 – Neal Herman 74 71, Hendrikus Stoop AMA 73 72, Phillip Kruse AMA 71 74
146 – Tertius van den Berg 71 75
147 – Louis Albertse AMA 80 67
148 – Paul Rodrigues AMA 75 73, Lydon Charnley AMA 76 72
149 – Ryan Wingrove AMA 72 77, Duan Nagel AMA 75 74, Jay Dean Fourie 76 73, Slade Pickering AMA 73 76, Bradley Diggeden AMA 73 76
150 – Donald Thompson AMA 75 75
151 – Leon Vorster AMA 81 70, Nicol Kromhout AMA 77 74
152 – Marais Visagie 74 78, Keagan Martin AMA 78 74, Cameron Gunning 77 75
Missed the cut:
154 – Shalan Govender 80 74, Martin Odendaal AMA 77 77, Handre Truter AMA 79 75
155 – Matthew Hands AMA 78 77
156 – WM Coetzee AMA 79 77
158 – Gary Jutzen AMA 81 77, Andrej Skrbinsek AMA 77 81
159 – Reinard Vermeulen AMA 80 79
160 – Tumie Motale 82 78
161 – Alex Krebs AMA 85 76
162 – Gareth Anderson AMA 85 77
164 – Jesse Jacobs AMA 82 82
165 – Gustav Erasmus 85 80, Donald Makhafola AMA 80 85
DSQ – Dylan Van Heerden AMA 86 DSQ
WDN – Thabi Ngcobo 77 WDN, Jabulane Mabilane 80 WDN