South Africa’s Wallie Coetsee moved into a one shot lead as the home contingent look to continue their remarkable record at the Joburg Open.
The 42 year old Coetsee, who ended a 17-year title drought on the co-sanctioning Sunshine Tour with a win in Zambia last year, added a six under par 65 on Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s West Course to his opening 66 on the East Course for a 12 under halfway total.
South Africans have won the last five stagings of this event and six of the last eight, and Coetsee had compatriots Garth Mulroy and Tjaart van der Walt one behind as well as England’s Simon Dyson.
“There were no cameras on me the whole day, so it was quite easy out there,” said Coetsee, who had five birdies, one bogey, and an eagle at the 15th. “I made one stupid bogey out there on the seventh, but I enjoyed the round a lot.
“There were a few sucker pins out there, so I went for middle green. I didn’t attack too much and just stayed calm, which paid off.
“This is a marathon, not a race. You have to pull the horse back a bit, you can’t run too fast. We’ll let the horse loose on Sunday on the back nine.
“For now it’s about making solid pars and keeping the battery at 100 per cent, keep it going and you’ll be ready when you need to be.
“Leading means a lot, but tomorrow we start from level par again. I’ll just give it my best. I’m looking forward to this weekend and seeing what happens.”
Dyson put himself in contention for a first European Tour title in four years as he added a five under par 67 on the East Course to his opening 65 on the West Course - the bumper 210-man field tackle both courses over the first two rounds before the final 36 holes take place on the more demanding East layout.
The six-time European Tour winner birdied five of his first ten holes before dropping his only shot of the day at the 12th, but converted from 15 feet for a gain at the 17th.
“I didn’t play as well as yesterday, but I scored pretty well,” said Dyson. “I made four birdies on the front nine and I birdied the par fives - if you get your drives away then they’re all pretty good chances.
“There was some luck. I got fortunate on ten. I pushed my drive down there and managed to get a shot, hit to about three feet and knocked that in, which was a bonus. It was a good day and I was very happy with the score.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been up there. I’ve been playing alright, but at the beginning of the season I changed my irons and they were costing me dearly - I didn’t have a clue how far they were going. This is the first week I’ve put my old set back in the bag and all of a sudden I’m hitting it pin high again. That makes a heck of a difference.”
Mulroy had five birdies in his 68, while van der Walt led for much of the day but failed to get up and down from greenside bunkers at the 17th and 18th and had to settle for a 69.
Coetsee was the only one of the top six to play the West Course today, with Niclas Fasth and Anthony Wall tied for fifth on ten under.
Sweden’s Fasth, without a top ten finish since 2011, carded an eagle at the 18th from six feet and has the added incentive of trying to claim one of the three Open Championship places on offer this week. He was runner-up to David Duval at Royal Lytham in 2001.
Fasth’s compatriot Alex Noren produced the round of the day over on the West Course, a flawless eight under par 63 taking him into a share of seventh on nine under.
