It’s been a tale of two winds through 36 holes of this year’s SDC Championship at St Francis Links, and they’ve both blown favourably for England’s Daniel Brown as he heads into the weekend with a three-stroke lead in this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event.
With the wind switching completely from the first round, Brown was still able to negotiate his way into the lead on 11 under par with a second round of 67.
It’s been a remarkable performance considering his late arrival to the tournament after missing his flight and going straight into this event without a practice round.
“I didn’t expect it. Maybe I should do it more often,” he said of his unusual preparation for this week.
His nearest challengers are South Africa’s Robin Williams and Shaun Norris on eight under par following their respective second rounds of 67 and 71.
The switch in wind caught many in the field off guard, with Pieter Moolman going from sharing the first-round lead to fighting to make the cut.
Even Brown had a double bogey on his card on Friday. “It was a completely opposite wind so it took a bit of getting used to,” he said.
“Holes that were easy yesterday were really tricky today. As soon as you play two or three shots you realise it’s going to be a completely different challenge. I managed to scrap it around a bit in places and hang on. So you just take it one hole at a time and figure it out from there.”
Having been one shot off the lead going into the second round, Brown seemed to really click late on his second nine when he finished his day with an eagle and two birdies in his final four holes.
“I had a really good finish. I’ve played really good the last two days but something really clicked in that stretch where I kept hitting it close which is nice.”
Brown enjoys the St Francis Links layout and finished in the top 10 in this tournament last year, and he’s looking forward to a weekend where he has a shot at a second DP World Tour title.
“Matt Baldwin (2023 champion) was miles ahead last year so there was no chance of catching him. I’ve always felt comfortable on this golf course so hopefully that continues into the weekend.”
Behind him, both Williams and Norris are equally confident of the challenge to come.
“I enjoy this course and I’m getting used to what I need to do to put myself in contention in these events. I’m playing good consistent golf so we’ll see where it puts us,” said Williams.
“It wasn’t easy out there and you needed a lot of patience, but it turned out nicely. The putter is working nicely so let’s see,” added Norris. – Michael Vlismas
SCORES:
-11 - Daniel Brown 66 67
-8 - Robin Williams 69 67, Shaun Norris 65 71
-7 - Jordan Gumberg 68 69, James Nicholas 68 69
-6 - Nick Bachem 67 71, Connor Syme 67 71, Jbe Kruger 69 69
-5 - Tom McKibbin 69 70, Gavin Green 70 69, Francesco Laporta 68 71, Malcolm Mitchell 67 72
-4 - Ugo Coussaud 68 72, Keith Horne 70 70, David Ravetto 70 70, Louis de Jager 70 70, Marcus Armitage 71 69
-3 - Oliver Bekker 69 72, Ockie Strydom 69 72, Jamie Donaldson 70 71, Jack Hawksby 71 70, Casey Jarvis 71 70, Andy Sullivan 70 71
-2 - Haydn Barron 70 72, Angel Hidalgo 70 72, Matthew Baldwin 70 72, Rikuya Hoshino 71 71, Nikhil Rama 70 72, Ivan Cantero 71 71, Julien Brun 71 71, Benjamin Follett-Smith 68 74, Thomas Aiken 71 71, Lyle Rowe 69 73
-1 - Keenan Davidse 73 70, Jeff Winther 71 72, Anton Karlsson 71 72, Matthias Schwab 70 73, Ryan Van Velzen 71 72, Wilco Nienaber 67 76, Espen Kofstad 71 72
Par - Adrian Otaegui 70 74, Lorenzo Scalise 69 75, Daniel van Tonder 75 69, James Morrison 72 72, Stefan Wears-Taylor 69 75, Adri Arnaus 73 71, Richie Ramsay 72 72, Ruan Korb 74 70, Adrien Saddier 74 70, Dylan Frittelli 72 72, Matteo Manassero 68 76, Hennie Otto 70 74, Ewen Ferguson 73 71, Oliver Wilson 73 71
+1 - Keagan Thomas 71 74, Thriston Lawrence 72 73, Jayden Schaper 68 77, Dylan Mostert 71 74, Jake Redman 71 74, Sebastian Friedrichsen 71 74, Nacho Elvira 69 76, Manuel Elvira 70 75, Clement Sordet 71 74, Anthony Michael 70 75, Rupert Kaminski 69 76