Jordan Wessels had a superb front nine on Wednesday in the second round of the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Mossel Bay Golf Club, and that helped him to a five-under-par 67 and a three-stroke lead at the halfway mark.
Wessels, who started his round on the 10th, eagled the par-five 11th to kick start a great run to the turn. He followed the eagle with birdies on 12 and 13, dropped a shot on the 14th, but consecutive birdies on 17 and 18 ahead of the turn saw him head for home on five-under.
He made two more birdies on the front nine on the way in, but a double-bogey six on his closing hole, the ninth, left him at five-under.
“I got off to a nice start,” said Wessels. “I eagled the par-five 11th, and birdied the next par-three and the par-four, and bogeyed the next par-four. I got pretty deep pretty quickly: I was four-under through four. It was steady from there. I missed a couple of good opportunities, but I went to the next nine and just tried to keep my scorecard together.
“I made two birdies on the way in, but I definitely left a lot out there. Unfortunately, on the last, I pulled my tee shot into the trouble, and I had to reload from the tee. I made par with my second ball, which resulted in a double-bogey.”
In second place, France’s Noa Auch-Roy carded his second five-under-par 67 in a row to move to 10-under-par, three behind Wessels. He had seven birdies and two bogeys in his round and shared second with Logan Leisher of South Africa, who went bogey-free in his fine five-under-par 67.
Sean Paxton, who had the joint low round of the day with his seven-under-par 65, was lying fourth on eight-under, two strokes behind the pair in second, while Vuyisani Makama, Christiaan Heyman and Shaun Viljoen shared fifth on seven-under-par.
Reigning Nomads SA U15 champion Viljoen had the second-lowest round of the day with his six-under 66 coming from an eagle, seven birdies and three bogeys.
The other low round of the day belonged to Harry Watkins of Wales, who made nine birdies and two bogeys in his seven-under-par 65. He was lying in a share of eighth on six-under-par through 36 holes. The Welshman got it to nine-under through 15 holes but dropped shots on the seventh and the ninth on his way home.
For Wessels, it’s all about taking advantage of the course in the conditions which are presented to him. He started his golf life at Humewood in Port Elizabeth, where the wind is a constant. “I started playing golf there at five, and played there until I moved to Johannesburg when I was 13,” he said.
“Even in the wind, Mossel Bay Golf Club is playing short for me. It’s very reachable. If your short game is good, you’re going to go low. Playing this golf course, it’s important to hit the fairway and to try and hit the greens in regulation. It makes it much easier because there are a couple of spots around the green that are tough to get up and down from.
“It feels pretty good taking the lead into the final day. There’s still a lot of work to do. I’m trying to not get too excited. I just need to keep doing what I’m doing. The pressure’s there, but this is a career where you have to perform under pressure constantly. If you want to make it out here, it’s part of the job description. I’m just breathing, trying to stay on the moment."
The South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship is one of the most prestigious titles on the amateur circuit and Wessels is only too aware of what he needs to do on the final day with the daunting challenge of 36 holes ahead of him. “I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” he said. “I’m not going to change how I’m playing because I’m in the lead. I’m hitting the ball well, so I’m just going to keep putting it out there and play.
“It’s obviously a big honour being able to play this tournament. SA Stroke Play has always been one I’ve wanted to win or even just be competitive in. It’s one of our big three, so it would be an absolute honour to be able to pull it through tomorrow.”