Van Tonder hangs on to Cape Town Open lead

Another bogey-free round – a 67 this time – saw Daniel van Tonder keep his place atop the leaderboard on a total of 11-under-par after 36 holes in the RAM Cape Town Open while taking a -one-shot lead into the third round which will be played at Royal Cape Golf Club.

In what was a similar start to his opening round, Van Tonder had to make do with three consecutive pars before making his first birdie of the day at Royal Cape. Then, he found joy, birdieing the par-three fourth. Two more birdies – this time on the sixth and seventh holes – got onto his card and another on the ninth to turn in 32.

Coming home, Van Tonder didn’t make any more birdies until the one he picked up on the 17^th to sign for another untainted round of golf in Cape Town.

“We made it easy out there,” says the man who sits third on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, “We tried to hit fairways today but missed a few. But we recovered from there and hit the greens and made a few putts, so I’m happy.”

While there was some wind at the start of the round, it was nothing like yesterday’s and Van Tonder was happy to take advantage.

“Yesterday was a bit of a mission out there with that wind,” he admitted, “but, today was one-club wind for me so it wasn’t as bad but you still need to hit the good shots and really strike the ball. Otherwise, the wind will play with you ball in the air. But I enjoy it out here, maybe I just like bad weather.

“Both courses play similar but I just think the greens at Royal Cape roll a little bit faster. But, from tee to green, I am playing solidly and if I get myself in the bush, I can recover. Just give me a swing and I’ll make a plan to get out of there somehow.”

Hot on Van Tonder’s heels is Italy’s Aron Zemmer, who carded a perfect seven-under 65 which catapulted him to second after two rounds of golf. He made his gains on the second, seventh, ninth, 11^th, 12^th, 14^th and 17^th holes. A further two strokes from Van Tonder’s lead is Mitch Waite of England who is followed by compatriot Toby Tree who shares the fourth spot with JC Ritchie on a tournament total of eight-under-par.