Italy’s Filippo Celli will take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honour, but it was Frenchman Sebastien Gros who grabbed the spotlight in Friday’s second round with his remarkable course record 60 at Royal Cape.
Celli maintained his hold on this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament with a round of 67 to lead on 11 under par.
His nearest challenger is Spain’s Borja Virto on 10 under par following a 67 of his own.
How things stand after 18 holes played. 📊#CellCCapeTownOpen #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour #HotelPlannerTour pic.twitter.com/371QVdUn9K
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 6, 2025
Daniel van Tonder and Malcolm Mitchell are the leading South Africans on eight under par following respective rounds of 67 and 69.
Van Tonder has won the last two tournaments on the Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour and should he achieve a hat-trick of wins this weekend he will automatically earn a DP World Tour card for next season.
The in-form Daniel van Tonder remains in the mix 👀
— HotelPlanner Tour (@HPlanner_Tour) February 7, 2025
He's targeting a 3rd consecutive victory on the HotelPlanner Tour this week!#CapeTownOpen pic.twitter.com/UrTRlQXmW1
But Celli said he is determined not to focus on anything but his own game this weekend.
“I’m very happy. It was another solid round. Hopefully I can keep the same mindset and patience over the weekend. I’m just staying focused on my own game. I like this golf course, but it is tricky. You have to be careful off the tee here. That’s the secret,” said Celli.
🗣️ Filippo Celli holds a one shot after 18 holes played in Cape Town. 🗣️#CellCCapeTownOpen #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour #HotelPlannerTour pic.twitter.com/VO7fbgPxXC
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 6, 2025
If anybody unlocked the secret of this venerable golf course then it was Gros. After three course record 62s – all of them occurring in this tournament over the years – Gros took full advantage of an early morning start in perfect conditions and wrote his name into the history of South Africa’s oldest golf club.
His 60 was made even more remarkable considering it came on the back of an 80 on day one.
A tale of two rounds. 📊 Sebastien Gros with a 20 shot swing between the first and second round. 🤯#CellCCapeTownOpen #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour #HotelPlannerTour pic.twitter.com/3fHHlIzyrt
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 7, 2025
“The first round was a nightmare and today was amazing. We never know what can happen in this game,” he said.
Teeing off on the 10th, he went out in 32 and then came home in 28 with not a single bogey on his card.
“When I made the putt on the last, even if it wasn’t for 59, I honestly felt like I’d won the tournament. It was the same kind of emotion,” he said.
“The evening before I just thought something like this was possible. You never know with this game, but I just had a feeling. As soon as you start believing, sometimes good things can happen. To get a course record is always a good sign. But especially here where you’ve got 140 years of history in a wonderful golfing country. To get the lowest round on this golf course is one of the biggest milestones I’ve ever achieved in my life. I’m very proud and humble.”
Course record alert 🚨
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) February 7, 2025
“Over 140 years of history here and I am the lowest round ever, it’s a very proud moment for me.” - Sebastien Gros#CellCeCapeTownOpen #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour #HotelPlannerTour pic.twitter.com/CejlREAZc7
SCORES
133 - Filippo Celli 66 67
134 - Borja Virto 67 67
136 - Daniel van Tonder 69 67, Malcolm Mitchell 67 69
137 - Jean Hugo 71 66, Stefano Mazzoli 71 66, JJ Senekal 71 66
138 - Vince van Veen 71 67, Christoffer Bring 70 68, Jonathan Broomhead 72 66, David Law 71 67, Justin Walters 68 70, Jamie Rutherford 69 69, Benjamin Follett-Smith 72 66, Bryce Easton 72 66, Rhys West 70 68
139 - Felix Mory 71 68, Michael Hollick 71 68, Nick Carlson 72 67, Chris Paisley 70 69, Ricky Hendler 70 69, Matt Oshrine 69 70, Lyle Rowe 71 68, Sam Jones 70 69, Calum Fyfe 69 70, Lucas Vacarisas 71 68
140 - Sebastien Gros 80 60, Christiaan Burke 73 67, Adri Arnaus 75 65, Hennie Otto 73 67, Jovan Rebula 74 66, Danie Van Niekerk 71 69, Lukas Nemecz 73 67, Euan Walker 72 68, Ethan Smith 74 66
141 - Fredrik From 71 70, Michael Feuerstein 76 65, JC Ritchie 70 71, Pieter Moolman 73 68, Keenan Davidse 70 71, Rhys Enoch 69 72, Baard Skogen 72 69, CJ du Plessis 72 69, Matthis Besard 75 66, Quim Vidal 75 66, Hayden Hopewell 72 69
142 - Jack Hawksby 73 69, Lorenzo Scalise 76 66, Sebastian Friedrichsen 75 67, Jacques Blaauw 70 72, Sam Hutsby 72 70, Maxence Giboudot 70 72, Palmer Jackson 73 69, Brandon Gildenhuys 72 70, Kyle McClatchie 71 71, Lars van Meijel 70 72, Luke Jerling 74 68, George Bloor 71 71, Daan Huizing 72 70, Daniel Young 73 69, Nikhil Rama 72 70, Martin Vorster 71 71, Jonathan Caldwell 72 70
Missed the cut:
143 - Combrinck Smit 71 72, Hennie O'Kennedy 74 69, Soren Broholt Lind 72 71, Ryan Lumsden 73 70, Luke Brown 77 66, Samuel Simpson 72 71, Rourke van der Spuy 78 65, Jason Roets 75 68, Sebastian Garcia 71 72, Maximilian Steinlechner 69 74
144 - Jordan Duminy 77 67, Renato Paratore 77 67, Robin Sciot-Siegrist 75 69, Anthony Michael 73 71, Stuart Krog 72 72, Louis Albertse 72 72, Anton Karlsson 75 69, Freddy Schott 72 72, Liam Nolan 69 75, Neil Schietekat 74 70, Per Langfors 75 69, Robson Chinhoi 76 68, MJ Viljoen 70 74
145 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 73 72, Rupert Kaminski 78 67, Heinrich Bruiners 74 71, Tadeas Tetak 74 71, Kyle Barker 75 70, Dylan Naidoo 72 73, Joe Long 73 72, Tomas Gouveia 73 72, Gerhard Pepler 75 70, Kyle De Beer 70 75, Sentanio Minnie 72 73
146 - Cedric Gugler 77 69, Wynand Dingle 74 72, Oihan Guillamoundeguy 74 72, Gregor Graham 74 72, Frank Kennedy 79 67, Lee Slattery 75 71, Nathan Legendre 76 70, Ben Sigel 73 73, Graham van der Merwe 75 71, Tyran Snyders 73 73, Jaco Ahlers 74 72, Ben Stow 77 69
147 - Bradley Bawden 75 72, Robin Petersson 82 65, Jens Fahrbring 75 72, Joachim B. Hansen 76 71, Santiago Tarrio 79 68, Jaco Prinsloo 77 70, James Morrison 71 76, Haydn Barron 77 70
148 - Callan Barrow 78 70, Keegan Mclachlan 80 68, Aron Zemmer 77 71, Dermot Mcelroy 78 70, Ruan Korb 78 70, Christofer Blomstrand 77 71, Jaco Van Zyl 74 74, Christofer Rahm 76 72, Victor Pastor 74 74, Sam Locke 77 71, Werner Deyzel 75 73, Ilirian Zalli 72 76, Matthew Spacey 75 73, Keelan van Wyk 74 74
149 - James Kamte 73 76, Max Kennedy 78 71, Dayne Moore 77 72, Altin van der Merwe 75 74, Dylan Mostert 80 69, Thabiso Ngcobo 76 73
150 - Jeremy Freiburghaus 81 69, Jacques P de Villiers 77 73, Alexander Settemsdal 74 76, Jiri Zuska 78 72, Oliver Wilson 77 73
151 - Herman Loubser 79 72, Martin Rohwer 76 75
152 - Thanda Mavundla 79 73, Quintin Wilsnach 77 75, Peter Karmis 79 73, John Axelsen 75 77
153 - Callum Mowat 78 75, Albert Venter 76 77
154 - Nick Cunningham 81 73, Umar Davids 78 76
155 - Taylor Funk 81 74, Conner Mackenzie 79 76
156 - Jastice Mashego 74 82
157 - Tristin Galant 78 79