Luke Jerling rates Umhlali Country Club as being one of his favourite courses and he continued to show how comfortable he is on the 5 943m Peter Matkovich design as he fired a second consecutive 66 on Thursday to claim a two-shot lead after the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun Sibaya.
The 32-year-old Jerling had eight birdies but three bogeys on the first day, but he played much more controlled golf on Thursday, dropping just the one shot, on the tough par-four 15th hole. A hot putter allowed him to collect six birdies as he goes into Saturday’s final round on 10-under-par.
“I really enjoy this golf course, I finished third here in this event last year and just missed out on a playoff,” Jerling said. “I’m not the longest hitter and this is not a bomber’s paradise. There are quite a few fiddly tee-shots and good par-threes.
“Fortunately my short game is my strength and I also made a few putts after struggling for a while with the putter. It was nice to see a few roll in and my iron play was also very solid,” Jerling said.
Danie van Tonder is poised for another final-round charge as he lies second on eight-under-par, following a 67 on Thursday that included an eagle on the 489m par-five 10th hole.
Pieter Moolman (66) and Astin Arthur (69), the amateur from nearby Mount Edgecombe who has won five events this year, are tied for third on seven-under-par.
DISAPPOINTMENT FOR OAKLEY
Overnight leader Jacob Oakley endured a disappointing day as he shot a 75 to finish on four-under-par, still inside the top 10 though. There are a host of Sunshine Tour winners in the top-10, including the in-form Malcolm Mitchell, who is ninth on the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy.
Jerling has come close before to winning his maiden Sunshine Tour title, finishing third three times and being the runner-up in the 2022 Manguang Open. Although he is now based at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Jerling is with the coastal players who are hoping for the wind to get up in the final round.
“The wind might pick up more and I won’t mind at all coming originally from Port Elizabeth, where you have to shape the ball a bit. It’s the sort of course where my game plan will be the same whether I’m chasing the cut or enjoying a five-shot lead, I’ll hit the same shots.
“So I’m not going to think too much about the final round, although it would be lovely to get over the line. It’s actually a bonus being in contention because I’ve been doing some good work with my coach Neil Cheetham and we made a breakthrough last week with my driver and my transition of weight, getting a better turn off the ball with more width. I can see the improvement, which is exciting,” Jerling said.
SCORES:
132 - Luke Jerling 66 66
134 - Daniel van Tonder 67 67
135 - Pieter Moolman 69 66, Astin Arthur 66 69
136 - Keenan Davidse 68 68, CJ du Plessis 69 67
137 - Heinrich Bruiners 68 69, Trevor Fisher Jnr 65 72
138 - Rourke van der Spuy 68 70, Dylan Naidoo 69 69, Malcolm Mitchell 66 72, Matthew Spacey 68 70, Jacob Oakley 63 75
139 - Hennie Otto 69 70, Neil Schietekat 71 68, Ruan de Smidt 71 68, Robson Chinhoi 69 70
140 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 71 69, Alex Haindl 65 75, Jaco Van Zyl 69 71, Ricky Hendler 68 72
141 - Altin van der Merwe 70 71, Luke Brown 69 72, Jean-Paul Strydom 72 69, Keegan Mclachlan 74 67, Tristin Galant 73 68, Jack Hawksby 70 71, Toto Thimba Jnr 71 70, Jean Hugo 69 72, Kyle De Beer 71 70, Danie Van Niekerk 69 72
142 - Doug McGuigan 73 69, Rhys West 71 71, Jonathan Broomhead 71 71, Combrinck Smit 72 70, Lyle Rowe 74 68, Martin Vorster 73 69
143 - Colin Nel 72 71, Nick Cunningham 73 70, Herman Loubser 72 71, Tyrone Ryan 68 75, James Mack 71 72, Pierre Pellegrin 67 76, Werner Deyzel 72 71, Ruan Korb 73 70, Jacques Blaauw 72 71, Martin Rohwer 70 73, Callum Mowat 70 73, Keagan Thomas 71 72, Craig Ross 72 71
144 - James Pennington 71 73, Stals Swart 71 73, Graham van der Merwe 71 73, Samuel Simpson 70 74, Hennie O'Kennedy 72 72
MISSED CUT:-
145 - Kyle McClatchie 75 70, Adam Breen 73 72, MJ Viljoen 76 69, Jacquin Hess 71 74, Irvin Mazibuko 69 76, Lindani Ndwandwe 72 73, Jastice Mashego 75 70, Shaahid Mahmed 71 74, Gerard du Plooy 73 72, LB Boshoff 75 70, Makhetha Mazibuko 69 76, Michael Hollick 74 71, Albert Venter 75 70, Jared Harvey 72 73
146 - Bwembya Chanda 72 74, Wynand Dingle 76 70, Stephen Ferreira 69 77, Hayden Griffiths 74 72, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 72 74, Sentanio Minnie 74 72, Jake Redman 72 74, Ethan Smith 74 72, Therion Nel 75 71, Trevor Mahoney 76 70
147 - Stuart Krog 77 70, Allister de Kock 72 75, Haydn Porteous 78 69, Franklin Manchest 72 75
148 - Ronald Rugumayo 75 73, Blanche Lamprecht 76 72, Leon Vorster 75 73, Conner Mackenzie 76 72, Brandon Pieters 76 72, Fredrik From 72 76, Lyle Pedro 70 78, Keelan van Wyk 74 74
149 - Promise Sombreiro 76 73, Luke Trocado 78 71, Gerhard Pepler 77 72, Austin Bautista 75 74, Estiaan Conradie 77 72, Kirby Coe-Kirkham 74 75, Christopher Long 75 74, Vaughn van Deventer 76 73, Thanda Mavundla 75 74, Jean-Pierre Van der Watt 73 76, Drikus Joubert 72 77
150 - Sabelo Xolani Majola 71 79, Ruan Conradie 74 76, Quintin Wilsnach 75 75, Gregory Mckay 74 76, Christiaan Burke 76 74, Merrick Bremner 73 77, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu 79 71
151 - Jordan Duminy 77 74, Gary Kemp 75 76, Christian Kriek 73 78
152 - Pride Sembo 77 75, David Amm 73 79, Travis Ladner 75 77, Regan Steyn 77 75
153 - Jason Roets 73 80, Dayne Moore 74 79
154 - Thabang Simon 74 80, Otto Van Buynder 79 75, Ruan Groenewald 82 72, Andrew Williamson 78 76
155 - Nicholas Adams 75 80, Simon du Plooy 80 75
156 - SP Mthethwa 82 74, Sean Bradley 80 76
157 - Umar Davids 81 76, Slenda Sithebe 78 79
158 - Brandon Gildenhuys 77 81, Richard Kruger 81 77
159 - Siyanda Mwandla 78 81, Jabulane Mabilane 79 80
160 - Thabiso Ngcobo 81 79
161 - Steven Le Roux 83 78
164 - Ricco Motsa 86 78
165 - Terence Boardman 84 81
174 - Shaun Coetzee 85 89