The Conradie brothers from Pretoria continued to make a name for themselves as two of the hottest young prospects in South African golf, storming into contention in the Ruimsig Challenge on Tuesday.
Overnight leader Jason Roets did well to hold on to pole position with a one-under-par 71, but his bid for a second IGT Challenge Tour title could come under threat if the Conradie siblings start to run hot in the final round at Ruimsig Country Club.
Estiaan, who won three times as an amateur and twice in his rookie season, shot 68, while Ruan sizzled with a seven-under-par 65 to close the gap on Roets. The Wanna Be A Champion Academy pair tied for second with Pretoria amateur Eric Nel and Garth Wolter, and the quartet will head into the final round in joint second on eight-under 136.
Roets cancelled a birdie start with a drop at the third hole, but the Eikenhof golfer reached 11 under with birdies at six, nine and 14, before he opened the door for the chasing pack to pounce with successive bogeys at 15 and 16.
Estiaan was also flawless through the first nine holes and turned six under. He birdied 12, cancelled a bogey at 13 with another gain at 14, and the 19-year-old finished in style with a birdie at closing par-five to join the logjam in second.
Ruan was seven off the pace at the start of day two, but he reeled in a brace of birdies at the second and third, and wiped out his only bogey at the fourth with another pair of birdies at eight and nine to move to four-under. He joined the bus at eight-under with an eagle at the par five 14th and birdies at 15 and 18.
Estiaan was first to break into the winner’s circle when the siblings from Wingate Park Country Club started campaigning on the country’s premier golf development circuit as amateurs last season. However, their famed rivalry reached a stalemate after Ruan racked up his third pro title for the season in last week’s Wingate Challenge.
‘Estiaan held the bragging rights for over than a year, so he will definitely be gunning for a win to take the lead again,’ said Ruan, who leads the official Money List. ‘I’ve learned a lot on the IGT Challenge Tour about putting myself in contention and coping with the pressure in front, especially in the last three months, so I back myself.
‘We celebrate each other’s victories, but we are both very competitive and we both want to beat the other for that sixth trophy. The most important thing to remember in tomorrow’s final round is that we need to play the course, not each other, or we’ll both end up holding a short straw.’
Nel lagged two off the pace at the start of round two.
The Centurion amateur eliminated a double bogey at the second with three successive birdies and a gain at the seventh moved him to seven-under. He followed a bogey at 11 with another trio of birdies at 14, 15 and 16, but ran into trouble again at the 17th. He followed an expensive six at the short hole with a birdie finish for his 70.
Wolter from Maccauvlei raced through the front nine in 31 strokes. He offset bogeys at 14 and 17 with birdies at 16 and 18 for a solid 67.
Picture of Estiaan Conradie courtesy of CJ du Ploooy
SECOND ROUND SCORES
All competitors SA unless otherwise specified and amateurs indicated as AMA
135 – Jason Roets 64 71
136 – Estiaan Conradie 68 68, Ruan Conradie 71 65, Eric Nel AMA 66 70, Garth Wolter 69 67
138 – Duane Keun 67 71, Juan Langeveld 70 68
139 – Luke Brown AMA 72 67, Cameron Moralee AMA 67 72, Teboho Sefatsa 69 70
140 – Teagan Moore 71 69, John McClean (NIR) 71 69
141 – Divan Marais 69 72
142 – Keelan van Wyk AMA 69 73, Stephan de Beer 73 69, Ricardo Towell 72 70, Andi Dill 71 71, Benjamin Follett-Smith AMA (ZIM) 71 71
143 – Matthew Vogel 71 72
144 – Shaun van Tonder 74 70, Maritz Wessels 73 71, David Mofokeng (LSO) 72 72, Roberto Lupini 70 74
145 – Ruan Korb 74 71, Terence Mogapi 73 72, Gareth Anderson AMA 73 72, Ryan Wingrove AMA 75 70
146 – Michael Dreyer 73 73, Billy Greyvenstein AMA 75 71
147 – Bryce Myburgh 74 73, Cole Dodgen AMA 75 72
148 – Mpho Mafishe 76 72, Vian van Blerk AMA 77 71, WM Coetzee AMA 73 75
149 – Lynette Fourie AMA 76 73, David Lamprecht 74 75
Missed the cut:
150 – Mae Cornforth 78 72, Owen Grobler 75 75
151 – Dylan Docherty 77 74, Dylan O’Leary 75 76
153 – Paul de Beer 79 74, Ruhan van Dijk AMA 75 78
154 – Deon Bredenkamp 78 76
156 – Arno Bartholoma (GER) 78 78, Songezo Sonamzi 80 76
157 – Cameron Gunning 78 79
158 – Bruce Buckland AMA 81 77
159 – Jancarel Rossouw AMA 78 81
160 – Luke Kelly 81 79, Jay Dean Fourie 79 81
161 – Mohammed Ismail AMA 77 84
166 – Matthew Rossouw AMA 82 84
167 – Ashley Mulligan AMA 85 82
170 – Dylan Morton AMA 83 87
172 – Jesse Jacobs AMA 88 84