It’s been over a decade since South Africa’s Trevor Fisher Jnr. last won a title, and he heads into the weekend of the CIRCA Cape Town Open with a chance to end that wait at Royal Cape Golf Club.
Using a putter that was given to him by fellow professional Rupert Kaminsky, Fisher Jnr. signed for a 67 and the overall lead on 11 under par.
“I took Rupert’s putter on Tuesday and it’s been working unbelievably well. So sorry, Rupert, but you’re not getting it back,” said Fisher Jnr.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in this position. I think I need to get my hands on a trophy again. But I won’t be getting ahead of myself.”
His nearest challenger in this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour event is Spain’s Pablo Ereno on 10 under, following his second round of 68 on Friday.
On a day when Royal Cape started to play more to its true form with a constant wind, Fisher Jnr. teed off his round with successive birdies and was five under through his first eight holes. He played the next 10 holes in level par as a few bogeys crept in. But he was more than satisfied with a round that has given him a shot at a trophy again.
“I got off to a nice start today and was coasting. I hit one or two bad shots but that’s going to happen in the wind, which was tricky today. You don’t have to hit the ball perfectly to win a golf tournament. You’ve just got to manage yourself. I think there is still a low score out there,” said the former DP World Tour champion.
And he’s bringing a different mindset to the weekend.
“There are a lot of good players behind me. I’m just trying to enjoy myself. I’m just grateful to be in a position to chase this title. I haven’t done that for some time. But there is still a long way to go. I feel like I’m a bit more relaxed this week. I actually don’t care if I win or lose, which is a nice attitude to have. I think you can put yourself under too much pressure to try and win tournaments. You’ve just got to try and control what you can, enjoy yourself, walk easy out there and not put too much pressure on yourself to try and shoot a good score. Just play the game.”
Behind him, Spain’s Enero is enjoying being in contention in his first tournament in South Africa.
“I’m playing on an invitation this week so my aim is to just do my best to get some status on a tour this year because I don’t have any at the moment. It’s exciting to be in contention. This is why I play golf. I love the pressure. This is my first time in South Africa and I like the country a lot,” he said.
SCORES
133 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 66 67
134 - Pablo Ereno 66 68
135 - Canon Claycomb 66 69
135 - Jason Roets 68 67, Tapio Pulkkanen 68 67, Marc Warren 65 70, Will Enefer 65 70
136 - Samuel Simpson 68 68
136 - Santiago Tarrio 69 67, Hennie Otto 66 70, Haraldur Magnus 68 68, Wilco Nienaber 66 70
137 - Grant Haefner 70 67
137 - Dan Erickson 66 71
138 - Gary Hurley 65 73
138 - Ruan Korb 69 69, Ryan Lumsden 67 71, Julien Quesne 71 67, Maximilian Kieffer 67 71, Louis Albertse 65 73
139 - Maxence Giboudot 69 70
139 - Keenan Davidse 69 70, Conor Purcell 68 71, Tom Lewis 65 74, Jaco Ahlers 69 70, Christofer Rahm 71 68, Callan Barrow 69 70, Andrew Wilson 70 69, Benjamin Hebert 69 70, David Horsey 67 72, Malcolm Mitchell 66 73
140 - Ryan Van Velzen 68 72
140 - Kieran Vincent 70 70, MJ Viljoen 71 69, Bjorn Akesson 67 73, Liam Nolan 71 69, Christiaan Burke 68 72, Martin Vorster 68 72, Lyle Rowe 66 74
141 - Borja Virto 71 70
141 - Robert Foley 70 71, Benjamin Rusch 70 71, Deon Germishuys 71 70, Baard Skogen 65 76, Robson Chinhoi 66 75, Per Langfors 69 72, Kyle McClatchie 71 70, JJ Senekal 67 74, Nikhil Rama 67 74
142 - Otto Van Buynder 72 70
142 - Bryce Easton 70 72, Lucas Vacarisas 72 70, James Meyer De Beco 70 72, Jannik de Bruyn 70 72, Austin Bautista 68 74, Graham van der Merwe 72 70, Luke Brown 70 72, Sam Jones 71 71, Julien Sale 67 75, Gerhard Pepler 67 75, Lorenzo Scalise 71 71, Victor Pastor 72 70, Lukas Nemecz 70 72, Lars van Meijel 69 73, Pieter Moolman 70 72, Hamish Brown 69 73, Kyle Barker 71 71
MISSED THE CUT:
143 - Pedro Figueiredo 69 74
143 - Albert Boneta 71 72, Stefan Wears-Taylor 68 75, Robin Sciot-Siegrist 71 72, Ronan Kleu 74 69, Callum Farr 69 74, Estiaan Conradie 72 71, Max Kennedy 69 74, Robin Williams 71 72, Kyle De Beer 71 72, Nick Carlson 69 74, Victor Sidal Svendsen 71 72, Filip Mruzek 68 75, Karabo Mokoena 70 73
144 - Altin van der Merwe 72 72
144 - Clement Sordet 74 70, James Mack 70 74, Callum Tarren 74 70, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia 74 70, Jamie Rutherford 71 73, Steven Brown 71 73, Collin Adams 70 74
145 - Luke Jerling 73 72
145 - Vince van Veen 70 75, James Sugrue 74 71, Alex Goff 71 74, Jean Hugo 72 73, Anton Albers 73 72, Jaco Prinsloo 72 73, Wynand Dingle 71 74, Daan Huizing 71 74, Jovan Rebula 72 73, Alfie Plant 73 72, Kieron van Wyk 71 74, Sam Hutsby 65 80, Allen John 73 72, Jack Hawksby 69 76
146 - John Gough 75 71
146 - Matthew Southgate 69 77, Jacques P de Villiers 74 72, Jonathan Goth-Rasmussen 69 77, Anders Ejlersen 71 75, George Coetzee 67 79, Haydn Porteous 69 77
147 - Javier Barcos Garbayo 73 74
147 - Joel Moscatel 73 74, Robin Petersson 73 74, Benjamin Van Wyk 74 73, MJ Daffue 73 74, CJ du Plessis 73 74, Martin Rohwer 71 76, Jeppe Kristian Andersen 72 75, Franklin Manchest 73 74, Palmer Jackson 73 74, Heinrich Bruiners 73 74, Herman Loubser 75 72, Josh Hilleard 72 75
148 - Yurav Premlall 74 74
148 - Xander Basson 72 76, Peter Karmis 74 74, Matthis Besard 75 73, Jack McDonald 72 76, Dylan Mostert 73 75, Ruan Groenewald 75 73
149 - Toto Thimba Jnr 74 75
149 - Neil Schietekat 73 76, Rupert Kaminski 68 81, Stephen Ferreira 72 77, Nick Bachem 70 79, Jacquin Hess 73 76, Tyran Snyders 73 76, Rhys West 71 78, Jacques Blaauw 71 78
150 - Warwick Purchase 73 77
150 - Sebastian Friedrichsen 72 78
151 - Ricky Hendler 78 73
151 - Yannik Paul 72 79, Jean-Paul Strydom 75 76, Hurly Long 75 76, Calum Fyfe 73 78
153 - Stuart Krog 77 76
153 - Tristin Galant 74 79, Marcel Steyn Scholtz 76 77, Keelan Africa 73 80
154 - Ayden Knight 75 79
154 - Hennie O'Kennedy 76 78, Rhys Enoch 75 79
155 - Jordan Duminy 76 79
155 - Luis Carrera 79 76