Francesco Laporta calls South Africa his second home, and this weekend he is looking to become the first Italian winner of South Africa’s oldest professional golf tournament – the Investec South African Open.
Laporta took advantage of a windstill morning in the winelands on Friday and signed for a 64 to lead this championship on 10 under par. He is one shot clear of England’s Nathan Kimsey, who also posted his 65 on Friday morning.
Dean Burmester leads the South African challenge on eight under par following his second round of 67. And Hennie du Plessis proved just how good the morning conditions were for low scoring when he carded a course record 63 – confirmed by Stellenbosch Golf Club in light of their tee box changes for this championship and the enlarged water hazard on 18 – to climb into contention on seven under par.
Laporta spent several years living in Johannesburg and played on the Sunshine Tour before moving back to Italy, and he says his love for South Africa and its people has never left him.
“I like playing in South Africa. It’s been my second home for a long time. This course actually reminds me a lot more of the Johannesburg courses. It’s tough, the fairways are tight and there’s a lot of rough so you have to hit it straight. I like it. I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’m sure the fans will cheer for the South Africans. But South Africans are always fair and it’s always good to play in front of them,” said Laporta.
The closest an Italian has ever come to winning the Investec South African Open was Renato Paratore who finished tied second in 2023. Laporta is hoping his accuracy off the tee, which has been his strongpoint, continues on the weekend to give him a shot at making history.
“My tee shots were good. On this golf course if you hit your tee shots straight you have a lot of opportunities,” he said.
Just one shot behind him, Kimsey is equally excited about the opportunity that awaits for him on a huge weekend where an exemption into the 2026 Masters and exemptions for the top three finishers not already exempt into The Open are on offer.
“My game’s been good and I’m glad I could put myself in contention here,” he said.
At two shots off the lead, Burmester has a chance at a second Investec South African Open title after winning in 2023, even though he didn’t feel like he took full advantage of the calm Friday morning conditions.
“Considering how good the conditions were in the morning, the course was really gettable and I just didn’t feel like I had my best game with me. I’m proud of the way I hung in there because the driver misbehaved quite a bit. But we’ll see what the weekend holds.”
Even Du Plessis is making no secret of his intentions this weekend.
“I feel like my game has been trending for the last month or so, and I’ve focused all of my preparation on this incredible tournament.”
The chase for a place in Investec South African Open history is about to enter the final 36 holes.
SCORES
-10 - Francesco Laporta 66 64
-9 - Nathan Kimsey 66 65
-8 - Dean Burmester 65 67
-7 - Hennie du Plessis 70 63
-7 - Joe Dean 65 68, Herman Loubser 66 67
-6 - Rikuya Hoshino 67 67
-6 - Kiradech Aphibarnrat 67 67, Alejandro Del Rey 65 69
-5 - Branden Grace 69 66
-5 - Casey Jarvis 67 68, Adrian Otaegui 67 68
-4 - Wilco Nienaber 70 66
-4 - Pierre Viallaneix 71 65, Antoine Rozner 68 68, Justin Walters 71 65, Johannes Veerman 66 70, Haydn Porteous 67 69
-3 - Kota Kaneko 71 66
-3 - Jeff Winther 68 69, Bernd Wiesberger 68 69, Oliver Lindell 65 72, Calum Hill 70 67, MJ Viljoen 69 68, Malcolm Mitchell 70 67, Xander Basson 67 70, Angel Ayora 67 70, Eddie Pepperell 70 67, Ockie Strydom 70 67
-2 - Rafa Cabrera Bello 70 68
-2 - Julien Guerrier 69 69, Robin Williams 68 70, Romain Langasque 70 68, Brandon Stone 69 69, Hennie Otto 70 68, Todd Clements 70 68, Matthew Jordan 68 70, Altin van der Merwe 68 70, Dian Kruger 70 68, Keenan Davidse 72 66
-1 - Alex Fitzpatrick 68 71
-1 - JC Ritchie 71 68, Darren Fichardt 70 69, Daniel Rodrigues 72 67, Sam Bairstow 69 70, Louis Albertse 69 70, Jayden Schaper 68 71, Niklas Norgaard 70 69, Jason Scrivener 69 70, Darius van Driel 71 (-2) [17], Tyran Snyders 70 (-1) [16], Jens Dantorp 72 (-3) [16], Kieron van Wyk 70 (-1) [15]
Par - Andy Sullivan 73 67
Par - Frederic Lacroix 69 71, Patrick Reed 71 69, Martin Couvra 73 67, Shaun Norris 70 70, Ugo Coussaud 70 70, Wenyi Ding 69 71, Daniel van Tonder 72 68, David Ravetto 71 69, Dylan Frittelli 67 73, Ewen Ferguson 68 72, Marcus Armitage 70 70, Charl Barnard 71 69, Benjamin Follett-Smith 71 69
Missed the cut:-
+1 - Scott Jamieson 72 69
+1 - Jacob Olesen 75 66, Ryggs Johnston 74 67, Logan Leisher 72 69, Manuel Elvira 74 67, Marcus Kinhult 73 68, Matteo Manassero 70 71, Freddy Schott 69 72, Justin Harding 70 71, Karabo Mokoena 70 71, Samuel Simpson 70 71, Warwick Purchase 69 (+2) [16], Lyle Rowe 70 (+1) [15]
+2 - Jorge Campillo 72 70
+2 - Connor Syme 72 70, Davis Bryant 74 68, Jack Buchanan 69 73, Ruan Korb 71 71, Thriston Lawrence 68 74, Ricardo Gouveia 73 69, Maximilian Steinlechner 70 72, Luis Carrera 71 71, Dan Bradbury 69 73, Bryce Easton 71 (+1) [16]
+3 - Dylan Naidoo 73 70
+3 - Richie Ramsay 74 69, Bjorn Akesson 72 71, Gregorio De Leo 70 73, Thanda Mavundla 73 70, Jacques Kruyswijk 72 71, Ivan Cantero 71 72, Dylan Mostert 72 71, Ben Schmidt 71 72, Deon Germishuys 71 72, Ryan Van Velzen 68 (+5) [17], Austin Bautista 73 (Par) [17], Kieran Vincent 72 (+1) [16]
+4 - Jeong Weon Ko 76 68
+4 - Jamie Rutherford 77 67, Marcel Schneider 78 66, Allen John 70 74, Richard Sterne 74 70, Michael Hollick 69 75, Joost Luiten 71 73, Daniel Cronje 70 (+4) [16]
+5 - Charl Schwartzel 77 68
+5 - Rhys Enoch 76 69, Pieter Moolman 74 71, Robson Chinhoi 73 72, Joakim Lagergren 73 72, Will Enefer 77 68, Toto Thimba Jnr 70 75, Jean Hugo 71 74
+6 - Yurav Premlall 73 73
+6 - Ernie Els 74 72, Jacques Blaauw 74 72, Jordan Gumberg 77 69, JJ Senekal 72 74, Cameron Adam 75 71, MJ Daffue 73 73, Luke Jerling 73 73, Jovan Rebula 72 74, Pablo Larrazabal 73 73, Tristen Strydom 70 76, Luke Brown 72 (+4) [16]
+7 - Judd Sundelson 71 76
+7 - Jaco Ahlers 75 72, Joel Girrbach 72 75, Jonathan Broomhead 73 74, Oliver Bekker 73 74, Angel Hidalgo 75 72, Yuto Katsuragawa 72 75, Stephen Ferreira 74 73, Marcel Siem 73 74
+8 - Sebastian Soderberg 75 73
+8 - Keelan van Wyk 73 75, Tristin Galant 73 75, Franklin Manchest 76 72, Heinrich Bruiners 75 73, Brandon Robinson Thompson 72 76, Merrick Bremner 77 (+1) [15]
+9 - Nikhil Rama 77 72
+9 - Rupert Kaminski 75 74, Martin Vorster 72 77
+11 - Jordan Duminy 76 75
+12 - Matthew Rossouw 76 (+6) [16]
+12 - Nick Bachem 77 (+5) [16]
+16 - Neil Schietekat 79 77
RTD - George Coetzee RTD RTD