Ockie Strydom went bogey-free on Friday on his way to a course-record nine-under-par 63 and a substantial climb up the second-round leaderboard of the Investec South African Open Championship being played at Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate.
He finished his round two shots behind the early second-round leader Thriston Lawrence on 11-under-par, and he took the record from Lawrence with nine birdies – four on the front nine and five in a superb homeward nine – after Lawrence equalled his own mark in the first round with his 64.
“There were so many birdies, I don’t know where to begin,” laughed Strydom. “I actually had a shirt with a bunch of birds on it that I gave to one of my friends, and I should have worn it!
“It was plenty of fun. I was hitting it as well as I can, and in the right places. My caddie and I worked out the yardages to perfection, and on the tucked flags, we played safe, and I made a few putts. That’s all!
“It’s quite an achievement to keep bogeys off the card on this layout, and I’m relieved that I was done early, because the wind is coming up a bit. The wind can make quite a difference. On 14 yesterday, I had driver-wedge, and today, with the gusts out there, I had driver-five-iron. But you just adapt to what’s going on around you.”
When lightning brought play to a halt soon after 3pm in the second round, Strydom was still in second place, one shot ahead of the leading amateur, Christiaan Maas. Maas had a superb seven-under-par 65 to move to 10-under-par, and is bidding to become the first amateur since Denis Hutchinson in 1959 to win the SA Open title. Maas shared third with Clemet Sordet of France.
Other South Africans who had finished their rounds before the interruption and were inside the top 20 were Wilco Nienaber (6=), James Hart du Preez, Darren Fichardt and Deon Germishuys (=13), and Matthew Spacey and Wynand Dingle (=20). Dingle and Du Preez each had four-under 68s, Nienaber, Spcaey and Germishuys had 69s, while Fichardt carded a 70.
For Strydom, the fact that it’s the SA Open where he produced this superb round is neither hewre nor there. “It’s one of those that everyone wants to win,” he said. “I’ve got two days left, fortunately, and we’ll just see what happens in the next two days.
“I’ve been in this position a number of times, so I’m not intimidated by it. I’m not young any more. I’m 38, and when I turned 35, the golf began to go well. They say you peak in your 30s, and I peaked a little late. But I’m happy and running along nicely. Anything can happen from here.”
