Theunis

Spangenberg

The local man had to swallow a double bogey-6 at 10 in his morning lap but surrounded it with seven birdies. They came at 3, 6, 7 and 9 on the front nine and at 12, 15 and 17 on the back. The 32-year-old is ranked a lowly 1,082nd in the world and has made the cut in just four of 19 European Tour starts since 2010. That said, he knows this course well having teed it up at Pretoria in six Sunshine Tour events, cashing in five of them. His morning 65 was briefly good enough for the clubhouse lead but he’s now in solo second after being overtaken by Justin Harding’s 63.

The 32-year-old turned pro back in 2005 and has one Sunshine Tour victory to his name, the 2011 Zimbabwe Open. But his results in European Tour co-sanctioned events have not come close to hinting at him being in contention at halfway. Indeed, in 20 such tournaments dating back to 2010 he is a mere 4-for-20 with a best of T49. He opened his second round from the 10th tee and reeled off eight straight pars before making bogey on 18. For a second day running he birdied No. 3, but gave the shot back at 5. When he signed his card it was good enough for tied second in the clubhouse, three back of the lead.