Luke Jerling and Adam Blommé both birdied their final holes to claim a share of the Dimension Data Pro-Am lead heading into the weekend at Fancourt Golf Estate.
South African Jerling posted a five under par round of 68 at The Links to set the target at 12 under, before Sweden’s Blommé posted a five under 67 on the Montagu course to join him at the top of the leaderboard. The duo lead by two from South African duo Adam Breen and Oliver Bekker, who share third on ten under par.
Jerling finished in 71st position on the 2022 Road to Mallorca Rankings in his maiden European Challenge Tour season, which included a second place finish on home soil at the Mangaung Open, but is now setting his sights on making the step up to the DP World Tour.
“I’m very pleased with my round today,” he said. “The Links is always a tough test with fast greens, so I’m never disappointed with a 68 here.
“I hit it really well off the tee and my iron play was good. I hit a lot of greens in regulation to give myself birdie chances and didn’t put myself in any danger or under pressure.
“I really enjoyed playing on the Challenge Tour last year and it was an amazing opportunity to play across Europe and I feel that it has helped my game so much. Even though I struggled at times, it was a great learning curve and I can’t wait to do it again this year.”
Co-leader Blommé was pleased to rise to the top of the leaderboard on day two and believes a conservative approach is key to success at Fancourt Golf Estate.
“I was really good off the tee today and it was great to put the ball in the middle of the fairway,” he said. “The pins are not tucked away so you can give yourself a lot of opportunities if you hit the middle of the green.
“The wind made it tricky today, but I love the courses and I’m feeling good about my game. I’m going to hit it hard tomorrow and hope for the best.”
Irishman Conor Purcell carded a six under par round of 66 to move into fifth place on nine under alongside Spaniard Manuel Elvira and South African Kyle Barker.
South Africa’s Hennie O’Kennedy posted an eight under par round of 65 to move into a share of eighth place on eight under with Spain’s Javier Sainz and countrymen Brandon Stone and James Kamte.
The third round will begin at 6:30am local time, with Jerling teeing it up on the Montagu course at 9:09am and Blommé teeing it up on the Outeniqua course at 11:09am.
