England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson produced a sublime second-round 62 to climb to 12 under par for the clubhouse lead in the Joburg Open at Houghton Golf Club on Friday.
On another day of rain and lightning, Thompson took full advantage of a brief window in the weather and staked his claim for the Joburg Open trophy.
His nearest challenger is America’s Sean Crocker on nine under following his 65.
The weather suspension means the second round will have to be completed on Saturday morning.
That still leaves an opportunity for South Africa’s Jayden Schaper and Ruan Korb, who are on seven under and still to complete their rounds. Luke Brown and Louis Albertse are the other leading South Africans on seven under, having posted respective second rounds of 67 and 65.
Thompson was almost more delighted with the fact that there was any golf played at all on Friday than with his incredible 62.
“It was a lot of fun. I was up at 3:45am and honestly didn’t think we’d get any golf in with the weather forecast. But we did and I had a lot of fun out there,” he said.
A hole-out for eagle on the par-four 13th added to his enjoyment.
“That’s my first one on Tour. It was about a 100-yard shot for me and the pin was set up perfectly. The ball pitched past the hole and spun back in. It’s a very cool feeling holing out.”
Whatever is still to come with the completion of the round, Thompson is looking forward to a weekend of challenging for the trophy.
“I’ve been up in the mix before and I love that feeling of competing. I can guarantee you I’ll have a good time.”