Nicholaus Frade was happy to shoot a second-round 1-under-par 70 which took his total to two-under for the week, catapulting him to a share of the top spot with Ricky Hendler in the Altron Big Easy Tour event that is currently underway in windy conditions at Randpark Golf Club.
“I played solidly today under tough conditions,” Frade started, “it was easy to let a lot of bogeys happen today. I just made sure I didn’t make a double as well and when I got into trouble, I just made sure I kept it in play and tried to put a score together.”
With the wind blowing at uncomfortable speeds around the Firethorn layout in Randburg, it was always going to take patience and precision for any one player to shoot really low scores.
Frade started on the 10th on Wednesday, making four pars and a birdie in his first five holes. A par on 15 was followed by a birdie on 16, Frade’s seventh hole of the day. He dropped a shot on 18, his ninth, and he was one-under through the first nine.
He steadied himself after that drop and made back-to-back pars before finding joy on his 12th, making an important birdie there to stay in it ahead of the final round. Those gains were soon done away with as the Centurion Country Club member made a bogey on the par-five fourth. He made up for those losses with a birdie on six but with the final stretch at Randpark as tough as nails, Frade dropped another shot to seal a well-earned 70.
“I did really well with controlling my ball flight,” Frade added, “and I always made sure I hit good distances. And my putting; I thought my putting and chipping helped me a lot today. The wind made things tough today, especially since those first two holes are straight into the wind and that makes it long and difficult. It just forces you to hit good shots. Even the closing stretch on both nines is just difficult, and there’s nothing like having a break at any time. You just have to keep your head down and graft.
“But I think the weather and the wind will be the same tomorrow so I will have to take on the same strategy I had today; hit fairways and hit greens and if you make a few putts out there, things will happen for you. I’ll try to do the same things I have been doing for the first two days and see where it puts me.”
Hendler shot two-over 73 but was able to maintain his spot at the summit of the leaderboard.
“I had a tough first nine,” Hendler admitted, “but a really good back nine. You couldn’t get made today when you hit a shot that you didn’t want to hit because it was just so tough. The wind was like 45km an hour, everything is at the back, the pins are tucked, and it felt like I was at a Joburg Open event.
“All I had to do was to try and get my rhythm back because I knew it will heat up a bit later on. I missed a couple of putts but I played really nicely on the back nine. But if the weather stays like this tomorrow, I think the guy with the biggest heart is going to win this tournament.”
Hendler has shown a lot of that big heart in the last few events and will hope to be rewarded with a win on Thursday.
The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els and counts current international star Christiaan Bezuidenhout among its former Order of Merit winners.
SCORES:
140 - Ricky Hendler 67 73, Nicholaus Frade 70 70
142 - Gregory Mckay 68 74
143 - Jason Roets 68 75, Ruan de Smidt 68 75, Makhetha Mazibuko 68 75, Adam Breen 71 72
144 - LB Boshoff 70 74
145 - Jacquin Hess 71 74, Dayne Moore 70 75, Keegan Mclachlan 74 71
146 - Matthew Rushton 74 72, Noel Anderson 73 73, Willie Olivier 76 70, Reinhardt Blaauw 76 70, Byron Coetzee 71 75, Allister de Kock 76 70
147 - Keaton Slatter 71 76, Gerhard Pepler 72 75, Jonathan Waschefort 71 76, Philip Geerts 71 76, Aneurin Gounden 72 75
148 - DK Kim 72 76, Siyanda Mwandla 74 74, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 73 75, Keelan van Wyk 72 76, Werner Deyzel 74 74, Nikhil Rama 75 73, Stefan Jacobs 73 75, Luke Trocado 72 76, Gerard du Plooy 73 75
Missed the cut:
149 - Ryan Tipping 72 77, Thanda Mavundla 73 76, Coert Groenewald 72 77, Stuart Krog 73 76, Franklin Manchest 73 76, Thabang Simon 75 74, Zabastian de Jager 75 74
150 - Lwazi Gqira 71 79, Leon Visser 78 72, Mike Maile 75 75, Jason Froneman 73 77, Jack Duthie 72 78, Matthew Spacey 73 77, Irvin Mazibuko 72 78
151 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz 76 75
152 - Henning du Plooy 75 77, James Kamte 76 76, Ethan Smith 80 72, Slade Pickering 75 77, Sentanio Minnie 72 80, Regan Steyn 73 79
153 - Shalan Govender 76 77, Karabo Mokoena 70 83, Pierre Pellegrin 82 71, Rigardt Albertse 77 76
154 - Bradley Diggeden 77 77, Jordan Wessels 74 80, Wade Jacobs 77 77
155 - Evance Vukeya 80 75, Keelan Africa 78 77, John Bele 79 76, Marthin Scheepers 77 78, Thabiso Ngcobo 79 76, Carlos Laranja 80 75, Alphius Kelapile 77 78
156 - Tumelo Molloyi 75 81, Fezekile Kana 77 79
157 - Lindani Mthiyane 78 79, Gerard Moodley 78 79
158 - Carlo Heunis 81 77, Simon du Plooy 79 79, Cameron Moralee 75 83, Richard Kruger 75 83
160 - Joe Knox 85 75, Samuel Simpson 77 83, Omar Sandys 80 80, Joshua Seale 76 84
161 - SP Mthethwa 80 81
163 - Mandla Dlamini Jnr 80 83
164 - Lincon Denzy Cele 83 81
165 - Darren Slingers 78 87, Brandon Moodley 86 79, Jastice Mashego 84 81
166 - Adriel Poonan 83 83
168 - Slenda Sithebe 84 84
173 - Murad Hoosen 87 86
180 - Francois van Staden 81 99
RTD - Steven Le Roux RTD