Jaco van Zyl made eagle from 100 yards on the 18th on Friday to take a four stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Investec Cup at Rustenburg Golf Club.
First round leader Justin Walters endured the frustration of seeing the form man of the last few weeks add two strokes to a lead which will be difficult to chase down if that form continues. Garth Mulroy and Jean Hugo were a further stroke back on nine under.
“It was just a nice controlled little lob wedge,” said Van Zyl of the shot that pitch just beyond the hole, and spun back in for his second eagle of the day.
After his opening 66 on the Millvale Private Retreat layout in the first round, Van Zyl is now in pole position to take the lion’s share of the R5,000,000 bonus pool which will be shared amongst the 30 players who qualified for this season-ending tournament after the Chase to the Investec Cup which started with last October’s BMG Classic.
The players head off to Lost City for the final two rounds, and while Van Zyl can’t be caught in the quest for the winner’s cheque in the Chase to the Investec Cup, the other 29 players can all have their potential winnings altered by their results.
Van Zyl also thought he battled in his opening nine. “I didn’t hit it too well off the tee for the first 11 holes,” he said, “but then I started hitting fairways and a few more greens, and I made a couple of putts towards the end.
“The last couple of weeks, it honestly doesn’t feel as if I’ve been hitting it that well, but I’ve been scoring unbelievably. I’m definitely going to ride the wave for as long as I can.”
