Sunshine Tour campaigner, Keenan Davidse, produced another round of 67 during the second round of the Betway Big Easy Tour event at Modderfontein Golf Club and will take a three-shot lead into the final round.
On a tournament total of 10-under-par, Davidse assumed the top spot on the leaderboard as overnight leader, Yurav Premlal, faltered to a one-under 71 for a total of seven-under. Barring the bogeys he made on the third, sixth and 18th holes, the Stellenbosch Golf Club member had a solid round on day two.
In what proved to be an eventful round on a tricky Modderfontein layout, Davidse was able to make eight birdies on the day, signifying his ability to weave together a really low score on his day. Despite playing some scintillating golf this week, Davidse refuses to get carried away, especially at the back of the break he took before teeing up in this event.
“The game still feels rusty,” he said, “but I’m not complaining. I was hitting it decently but not the way I know I can hit it. I’m enjoying myself out here though and I don’t want to put pressure on myself. Let’s take it one shot at a time and see where we are tomorrow.”
CLUBHOUSE LEADER🔼
— Big Easy Tour (@bigeasytourgolf) July 16, 2024
Keenan Davidse shared his thoughts after he carded a 5-under 67 to lead by 2 after the morning field was done.@ModderGolfClub@Betway_za#betwaybigeasytour #greatnessbeginshere pic.twitter.com/rrRjiPlA6F
He is well justified in refusing to get carried away. The chase, led by Premlal, will be on in the final round and any slip in concentration can prove very costly very quickly. So, even though he lamented his error-prone second round, Premlal has all the qualities to give Davidse a run for his money. Besides, other very capable players such as Tyron Davidowitz (5-under-par and third on the leaderboard) are lurking dangerously as the final round approaches.
“I made a lot of mistakes today,” admitted Premlal who plays out of Glendower Golf Club, the former home of the Investec South African Open Championship. “I started off with a six on a par-five, which is never good. Two mistakes on the front nine and I missed a couple of decent putts.
“But, there are a few things I have already figured out after that round, which I need to get better at going into tomorrow and the rest of the season. I know where the shots were lost, at least, and I’ll try to put together a good one tomorrow.”
Andrew Williamson, Eric Wowor, Vaughn van Deventer, Francois Van der Walt and Jacquin Hess tied fourth on four-under while Paul Boshoff, Warwick Purchase and Marcel Steyn Scholtz make up the top ten leading players on three-under-par.
SCORES:
134 - Keenan Davidse 67 67
137 - Yurav Premlall 66 71
139 - Tyron Davidowitz 71 68
140 - Andrew Williamson 71 69, Francois Van der Walt 67 73, Vaughn van Deventer 70 70, Eric Wowor 67 73, Jacquin Hess 69 71
141 - Paul Boshoff 74 67, Marcel Steyn Scholtz 73 68, Warwick Purchase 72 69
142 - Stals Swart 74 68
143 - Nikhil Rama 72 71, Makhetha Mazibuko 69 74, Philip Geerts 73 70, James Kamte 73 70, Gerard du Plooy 74 69, Ryan Tipping 71 72
144 - Samuel Simpson 73 71, Thanda Mavundla 69 75, Werner Deyzel 73 71, Andre De Decker 70 74, Eugene Du Plessis 73 71
145 - Kayle Wykes 70 75, Andrew McLardy 77 68, Letsoso Letsai 74 71, Michael Kok 71 74, Thabiso Ngcobo 72 73, Slenda Sithebe 73 72, Steven Le Roux 71 74, Gerhard Trytsman 77 68, Leon Vorster 76 69, Karabo Mokoena 73 72
Missed the cut:-
146 - Graham van der Merwe 75 71, Joe Knox 74 72, Amilkar Bhana 73 73, Christopher Long 74 72, Otto Van Buynder 74 72, Ulrich van den Berg 74 72, Mutahi Kibugu 74 72, Christiaan Heyman 70 76, Sentanio Minnie 77 69
147 - Harry Konig 75 72, Kyle McClatchie 71 76, Terence Boardman 71 76, Oliver Goldhill 76 71, Gary Kemp 72 75, Mike Maile 77 70, Reece Mc Kain 75 72, Travis Ladner 74 73, Carlo Heunis 77 70
148 - Nicholaus Frade 75 73, Jaden Deltel 74 74, Thabang Simon 76 72, Allister de Kock 74 74, Jastice Mashego 72 76, Dylan O'Leary 74 74, Xander Basson 74 74, Leon Visser 74 74
149 - James Pennington 75 74, Trevor Mahoney 76 73, Drikus Joubert 73 76, Franklin Manchest 73 76, Matthew Rushton 73 76, Simon du Plooy 75 74, Regan Steyn 74 75
150 - Luke Trocado 78 72, Ruan Groenewald 75 75, Henning du Plooy 76 74, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 74 76
151 - Lyle Pedro 74 77, Slade Pickering 75 76, Louis Liebenberg 74 77, Judd Sundelson 71 80, Therion Nel 77 74
152 - Luke Mayo 77 75, Erhard Lambrechts 77 75, Fabrizio De Abreu 76 76, Jonathan Waschefort 79 73, Shalan Govender 74 78, Sabelo Xolani Majola 78 74, Tiger Adams 78 74, Njoroge Kibugu 78 74, Alphius Kelapile 78 74
153 - CJ Levey 81 72, Aneurin Gounden 79 74, Heinrich Bruiners 79 74, Jason Froneman 79 74, Eben Spangenberg 80 73, Janko van der Merwe 79 74
154 - Malan Potgieter 75 79, Jules Helary 75 79, Tyrone Ryan 79 75, Jabulane Mabilane 78 76, John Bele 78 76, Teboho Sefatsa 80 74, Tumelo Molloyi 75 79, Lwazi Gqira 78 76, Khanya Mkhize 74 80
155 - Kyle Kistensamy 80 75, Richard Kruger 77 78, Ace Andile Adam 78 77, Umar Davids 76 79, Ruan de Smidt 77 78, Irvin Mazibuko 76 79
156 - Dehan Joubert 78 78, Shaydon Johnson 88 68, Jordan Burnand 72 84
157 - Jordan Duminy 81 76
158 - Toto Thimba Jnr 75 83
160 - Brandon Moodley 83 77
161 - Carlos Losper 86 75, Mark Maart 82 79
173 - Llewellyn Leibrandt 84 89
175 - Jonathan Williams 88 87
WDN - Christian Kriek 79 WDN, Johan Theron 85 WDN, Keelan van Wyk RTD RTD, Siyanda Mwandla 72 RTD, Keelan Africa DSQ DSQ