Mikko Korhonen was delighted to be back in contention on a happy hunting ground after firing a second-round 64 at the Tshwane Open.
The four-time Qualifying School graduate has not had to make the trip since his Final Stage victory in 2014 and last season had his two best European Tour finishes as he edges closer to a maiden victory.
He finished second here at Pretoria Country Club but has not been involved at the upper end of the leaderboard since repeating that result at the LYONESS OPEN powered by ORGANIC+ in June.
His joint lowest round of the week on Saturday left him just one shot behind midway leader George Coetzee in Waterkloof and he was now looking to kick on over the weekend.
"I’m excited for the weekend," he said. "I haven’t been in contention for a while so it’s going to be fun.
"It’s a really good score but I got to take advantage of some good conditions. It got a little windy on the front nine - my back nine - but the other nine was perfect.
"The greens were rolling really nicely. I putted pretty well, as I have been doing the last couple of days. I holed a couple of 40-footers out there and made all the short ones.
"If you hit fairways around here you’re going to get birdie chances and then the putter is always the key.
"I like the course. I like South Africa in general. I like the vibe here, it’s really nice."
Chile's Felipe Aguilar followed up his opening 65 with a 67 to also sit a shot off the lead as he made his first cut of the season.
The 43 year old had to regain his card at the Qualifying School in 2017 after ten consecutive years on Tour but was showing the form that made him a two-time winner this week.
"It’s good to be up there," he said. "You can only lose a tournament on Thursday or Friday. It’s good to be in the middle of the park and hopefully get some good results on the weekend when finishing."
