Luke Jerling was a little grumpy when he bogeyed the 18th of his first round, but he made up for that with a five-under-par 68 on The Links at Fancourt in the second round of the Dimension Data Pro-Am, co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the Challenge Tour.
After his opening seven-under on Outeniqua, he moved to the top of the leaderboard at 12-under-par, sharing the lead with Sweden’s Adam Blomme. The Swede had an impressive five-under 67 on Montagu to go with his opening 66 on The Links. Players play a round each on each of the three courses ahead of a 54-hole cut, and the final round will be played on the challenging Montagu layout.
“It was a bit frustrating to three-putt the final hole in the first round after hitting all the greens, but I got over it fairly quickly,” laughed Jerling. “To follow that with a good day on The Links was good too. We started out in still conditions, but the wind did pick up a bit which kept things interesting. Luckily on The Links, once you reach 13 and head for home, the wind is not that much of an issue any more, and I played those holes well.”
Jerling had a quietish outward nine on The Links, making birdies on the fourth and sixth. He missed out on the par-fives on the fifth and ninth, but five birdies on the homeward nine got him scoring freely. He dropped shots on the par-four 10th and 12th but he was flawless on his way in with four birdies in the final six holes.
“On the 10th, I drove it into one of those pot bunkers, and I just had to chip it out,” he said. “I also hit it into a bunker on 12, and had to take my medicine again. I didn’t hit as many greens in the second round as I did in the first, but I was putting really well. I made everything from about 10 feet, and then a couple from longer than that, which was really helpful.”
He and Blomme had a two-stroke lead over South Africa’s Adam Breen and Oliver Bekker in third. Breen also had a five-under 68 on The Links, while Bekker signed for a four-under 68 on Montagu, and they were a shot ahead of Manuel Elvira of Spain, Conor Purcell of Ireland and South African Kyle Barker in a share of fifth.
For Jerling, the challenge of Montagu in the third round is tempered by the fact that he gets two bites at the cherry, so to speak, as he will play it two days in a row when the final round is played there.
“I didn’t start too well in Cape Town last week,” said Jerling, “but I’ve been talking with my coach, and we worked an a few things, incorporated a few drills and worked on them on the range after both rounds so far. They seem to be working, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring on Montagu.”
