A sparkling back nine of six-under-par 29 on Tuesday helped Mark Maart sign for a low seven-under 64, two shots clear of Kian Rose at Reading Country Club, where the sixth tournament of the Betway Big Easy Tour is being played.
Maart started off brightly in Alberton, going four-under in his first four holes, thanks to back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes. A bogey on the par-three seventh visited Maart’s card, threatening to derail his early progress. He held his nerve to walk away with important pars on eight and nine.
After the turn, Maart looked to have found something. He parred the 10th, then made a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th through 13th. He was not done yet, as he holed out for eagle on the par-four 17th before sealing his round with a birdie on 18.
“I just wanted to get the game going,” said Maart, who is a member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class. “I had a solid game plan today, and I stuck to the game plan. I made a few good putts today. I hit a few good shots also. Ultimately, it all just came together today.
“A round like this is a good boost. We don’t always get a round like this, so it’s a big confidence-booster going into tomorrow. And, my caddie was great today. He gave me a little pep-talk there on the final three holes, like ‘hey, you need to stop talking now and focus.’ So, it was a good round of golf today.”
With only a slim two-stroke margin separating him from Rose, who was just as solid on Tuesday, Maark knows not to get ahead of himself.
“I’m going to have an early night tonight,” he said of his plan going into the penultimate round of this 54-hole event. “Then, I just want to come out again with the same game plan tomorrow and whatever happens, happens.”
Rose’s five-under 66 not only earned him the second spot on the leaderboard, but it was also the second-lowest score on day one, after Maart’s 64. Other than the unwanted triple-bogey he made on the par-three 15th, Rose was just as solid on Tuesday.
Joe Sullivan, who leads the current Order of Merit standings, Jason Froneman and Leon Visser shared third on three-under.
