Wilco Nienaber was in scintillating form in round two of the DP World Tour’s Hero Open, shooting a sizzling 11-under 61 on Friday to get to a tournament total of 12-under and three shots back of overnight leader, Sean Crocker.

The American’s second-round 66 was enough to see him retain his spot at the summit of the leaderboard at the halfway mark of this 72-hole tournament.

In what was a show of excellent golf by the young South African, Nienaber made seven birdies and a pair of eagles on his way to a blemish-free second round. He is tied eighth with Oliver Farr, Aman Gupta, Spain’s Jorge Campillo and France’s Romain Langasque ahead of the third round in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.

Tied 15th at 10-under-par for the week, Louis de Jager made the most of moving day and his 66 in round two catapulted him to within five shots of the lead. JC Ritchie backed up his opening 66 with a three-under 69 on day two and on a tournament total of nine-under, he is six off the pace.

He will not be too bothered, however, as he has carved a reputation as a player that doesn’t mind chasing the pack. In a few tournaments on the Sunshine Tour, Ritchie has shown an ability to make a late charge for the victory, and most times, he has succeeded.

Justin Walters and Jacques Kruyswijk lie 30th on the leaderboard, at eight-under for the week. Brandon Stone, Bryce Easton and Adilson da Silva are the other Sunshine Tour players who have made the cut this week. They are on a tournament total of seven-under-par.

Darren Fichardt, Oliver Bekker, Richard Sterne, Jacques Blaauw and Haydn Porteous all missed the cut.