Keenan Davidse and Björn Åkesson will share a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend of the NMB Championship at Humewood Golf Club.
South African Davidse took advantage of the benign early morning conditions to post a six under par round of 66 and set the target at 14 under par, before Swede Åkesson battled the gusty afternoon winds to card a five under 67 and join him at the top of the leaderboard.
Davidse endured a difficult start to the week following the passing of both his coach and auntie, however he was determined to make them proud in Port Elizabeth.
“I’m very emotional this week because my coach passed away two days ago from a stroke and my aunt also passed away three days ago,” he said.
“I’m not saying that’s the reason I’m playing well but I have two special angels looking over me and that’s my motivation for the week. I’ve been struggling very badly and it was also my son’s birthday on Monday so I definitely have extra incentive this week.
“Links golf is tough and you need a little bit of luck around here. I enjoy the creative aspect and I love hitting it low in the wind. It’s important to stay out of bunkers and predict which way the wind is blowing.”
Åkesson retired in 2017 after losing his DP World Tour playing rights and falling out of love with the game, however the 35-year-old returned to the Challenge Tour this year after a stellar 2023 which saw him earn promotion by topping the Nordic Golf League Order of Merit.
“I lost my DP World Tour card in 2016 and I wasn’t enjoying my golf anymore,” he said. “I decided to quit and go into coaching for a few years and after that I felt like I wanted to try and compete again.
“I graduated from the Nordic Golf League last season and I’m really looking forward to this year on the Challenge Tour.
“I’m very pleased because it’s tough mentally to play golf in these conditions and I will definitely need a good rest tonight. Where I am from in Sweden it’s very windy so luckily I’m used to these conditions and that was an advantage today.”
The duo lead by one ahead of Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell on 13 under par, while overnight leader Martin Couvra, Australian Hayden Hopewell, England’s Lee Slattery and South African Jaco Prinsloo are a shot further back in fourth.
South African duo Trevor Fisher Jnr and Anthony Michael share eighth position on 11 under par, while countryman JC Ritchie shares tenth on ten under par with Spain’s Angel Ayora, Frenchman Pierre Pineau and Italy’s Luca Cianchetti.
