Louis Moolman dropped four shots over his last five holes, but the Pretoria amateur still retained the clubhouse lead at the halfway mark of the South African Mid-Amateur Championship on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Cullinan golfer set the first round target with a course record nine-under-par 63 in perfect scoring conditions at Plettenberg Bay Country Club, but when he teed off with the afternoon starters, a fresh west-south-westerly wind made for a tough day at the office.
Moolman was four under through 13 holes, courtesy of birdies at the 15th and 1st, and an eagle at the par-five 4th, but he ran into trouble at the toughest stretch on the course.
He dropped shots at the 5th and 8th and had a double bogey at the par-five 7th to limp home in even-par 72. It was good enough, though, to keep him at the top of the pile at nine-under 135 and he will start the third round with a staggering seven-shot lead.
‘We set up the course to be challenging but fair, pushing tees forward on the holes into the wind and giving guys scope on the holes that play downwind,’ said golf director Cliff Barnard.
‘But the wind blew between 25 and 27 kilometres an hour, which made for tough scoring and no one made a real move on Louis in front. A good score would have been around the 69 mark, but five, six, seven and eight are brutal holes into the wind, especially for the guys who finished on the front nine. A lot of players gave up shots in that stretch.’
Local hope Ivan Williams began the second round four off the pace, but the George golfer also fell foul of the 7th and 8th. He carded a 75 to hold on to second place, but slipped to one under.
‘I hope the wind really pumps to slow Louis down a bit,’ joked Williams. ‘Actually, I had a really steady start. I didn’t do much wrong, but the putts wouldn’t drop. I had seven lip-outs in total, so I really need to get the flat stick warmed up. Unfortunately, two loose shots at seven and eight cost me, but there are two rounds left. I never stop fighting until the last putt drops.’
Low rounds were far and few. Nalco Claassen from Wedgewood carded a 71 and Ruan Botha from Randpark also posted an even-par 72.
However, Derek Scullard from KwaZulu-Natal had the measure of the course, especially the tough closing stretch. The Mount Edgecombe golfer posted the low round of the day – a three-under-par 69 – that vaulted him to third on one-under 143.
Scullard made a bogey start at the 10th and dropped another shot at the 12th, but turned level par after birdies at the 13th and 18th to turn level-par. Down the back, the 2017 GolfRSA Mid-Amateur of the Year had two more bogeys at the 3rd and 8th, but cancelled those with birdies at the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 9th.
‘I played the course for the first time in round one and probably played a bit too defensively, but it helps to get to know the layout,’ he said. ‘If you hit it in the wrong spot on some of the greens, you struggle to up-and-down for par and that happened a few times in the first round.
‘I felt comfortable using the driver a lot more today and the putter behaved better. I’ve been struggling with the putter in the last few months, but I’ve gone back to my old Odyssey T-Blade and it seems to be working out for me.
‘Louis is miles ahead and he is a solid player, so it will take two really good rounds to catch him, but I like a challenge. I think it will probably all come down to the weather over the last two days.’
Photo: Scullard in second round action, by GolfRSA.
Second Round Scores
135 Louis Moolman 63 72
142 Ivan Williams 67 75
143 Derek Scullard 74 69
144 Naldo Claassen 73 71
146 Ruan Botha 74 72; Weyers Janse van Rensburg 73 73; Cameron Johnston 70 76; Norman Raad 70 76
148 Elton James 71 77
149 Francois le Roux 75 74; Gerlou Roux 73 76
150 Ryan Dreyer 75 75; Corne van Deventer 73 77
151 Danie Viljoen 75 76; Ernest Botha 72 79; Deon Kruis 72 79
152 Michael Holden 74 78; Rory Garton 73 79
154 Dino De Abreu 81 73; Kevin Sharp 80 74; Stefan Blommaert 80 74; Alex van Heerden 79 75; Gustav Verster 77 77
155 Jauqo Jacobs 81 74; Shaun le Roux 77 78
156 Alistair Mullen 82 74; C J Head 77 79
158 Mark Coram 82 76; Jason de Gama 78 80; Evan Mackenzie 77 81; Garreth Johnston 77 81; Michael Carris 76 82
160 Hugo Delport 84 76; Lawrence Joubert 82 78; James Faber 79 81
161 Johan Jansen van Vuuren 78 83
162 Sean Baker 85 77; Michael de Jongh 80 82; Craig Bell 79 83
163 Shaun Mulligan 79 84
164 Johan van der Merwe 82 82; Edrich Coetzer 81 83; Andrew Ncongwane 80 84
165 Grant November 81 84; Maartin Boshoff 80 85
166 Martin Pieterse 86 80; Donovan Dicks 82 84; Pierre Spies 82 84
170 Chase Manna 86 84
171 Matthew Hamer 88 83; Riaan Swanepoel 87 84; Botha Pretorius 86 85; Tyron Luck 84 87
172 Jason Plumbly 88 84
173 Phil van der Westhuizen 83 90
174 Loyiso Barnes 90 84; Matthew Emanuel 87 87; Andre Spies 86 88
175 Cedric Touzard 86 89
178 Marthinus Kruger 92 86
180 Steve Avis 86 94
WD Nicholas Mitchell 76 WD