Simon Dyson put himself in contention for a first European Tour title in four years as he grabbed a share of the clubhouse lead midway through the second round of the Joburg Open.
Dyson, a six-time European Tour winner, added a five under par 67 on Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s East Course to his opening 65 on the West Course to post an 11 under par halfway total.
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.
Dyson was joined at the top of the leaderboard by South Africans Garth Mulroy and Tjaart van der Walt, with the latter having led for most of the morning until he failed to get up and down from greenside bunkers at the 17th and 18th for a bogey-par finish.
The 37 year old Dyson 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 and van der Walt were round in 68 and 69 respectively on the East Course, which was also where Niclas Fasth and Anthony Wall were in action.
They were tied for fourth on ten under, with Sweden’s Fasth carding an eagle at the 18th from six feet.
Without a top-ten finish since 2011, Fasth 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 morning over on the West Course, a flawless eight under par 63 taking him into a share of sixth on nine under.
