Impressive Albertse chasing Sishen Classic glory

Louis Albertse continued his impressive form this season as he claimed a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend of the Sishen Classic at the Kalahari Country Club.

Albertse, who has finished in the top 10 in his last two tournaments, added a second consecutive 67 to top the leaderboard on 10 under par.

He is one stroke clear of Pieter Moolman, who signed for a second round of 69 on Friday. The experienced duo of Trevor Fisher Jnr. and Jacques Blaauw are two shots off the lead following respective second rounds of 66 and 68.

Albertse has started the new Sunshine Tour season in superb form with a finish of ninth in the Lombard Insurance Classic and then second in the FBC Zimbabwe Open. And patience has been the backbone to his success this season.

“I’ve been very patient with my own game and trying to learn what I do well and don’t do well. I’ve tried to stay very patient throughout my round so that I make as few mistakes as possible. I feel like I’ve done that quite well. If I don’t like a tee shot, then I’ll hit an iron and just make sure I’m in play. So patience has been the biggest reason for my form,” said Albertse.

He needed some of that patience on a Friday when his solid putting form wasn’t altogether there.

“These two days were totally different. I had 23 putts in the first round and 32 putts in the second round, with the same score. But I’m very happy with how I managed myself because the second round was frustrating considering how well I was hitting the ball. All in all, I’m proud of myself for how I’ve managed my game.”

Behind him, Moolman continued to keep himself in contention. “I didn’t give myself enough opportunities in the second round, but that’s what golf is about. You’re never going to have a perfect round. If you can fight and still shoot under par, then that’s a good round.”

SECOND-ROUND SCORES

134 - Louis Albertse 67 67

135 - Pieter Moolman 66 69

136 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 70 66, Jacques Blaauw 68 68

137 - Jaco Ahlers 69 68, Deon Germishuys 66 71, CJ du Plessis 69 68, Hayden Griffiths 68 69, Bradley Bawden 66 71

138 - Riekus Nortje 69 69, Ockie Strydom 66 72, Malcolm Mitchell 67 71, Alex Haindl 69 69

139 - Dylan Mostert 71 68, Clinton Grobler 68 71, Rupert Kaminski 69 70, Jake Redman 70 69, Jean Hugo 70 69, MJ Viljoen 70 69, Jaco Prinsloo 72 67, Ryan Van Velzen 69 70, Danie Van Niekerk 67 72, Joe Long 69 70

140 - Hennie O'Kennedy 71 69, Stephen Ferreira 68 72, Martin Rohwer 72 68, Combrinck Smit 74 66, Lyle Rowe 70 70, Dylan Naidoo 71 69, Dan Erickson 68 72, Adilson Da Silva 68 72, Jaco Van Zyl 68 72

141 - Byron Coetzee 69 72, Franklin Manchest 73 68

142 - Yubin Jung 74 68, Sean Bradley 70 72, Erhard Lambrechts 71 71

143 - Louis de Jager 72 71, Neil Schietekat 72 71, Keagan Thomas 70 73, Harry Konig 71 72, Jacques P de Villiers 76 67, Matias Calderon 71 72, Jacquin Hess 69 74

144 - Divan van den Heever 72 72, Chris Cannon 72 72, Makhetha Mazibuko 70 74, Jason Smith 74 70, Hennie Otto 74 70, Andre Van Dyk 75 69, Quintin Wilsnach 74 70

145 - Madalitso Muthiya 68 77, Herman Loubser 75 70, Michael Hollick 75 70, Sean Cronje 74 71, Keith Horne 74 71, Christiaan Basson 74 71, Maverick Faber 71 74

146 - Chris Swanepoel 71 75, Keenan Davidse 73 73, Jared Harvey 70 76, Siyanda Mwandla 75 71, Dean O'Riley 75 71, Gerrit Foster 71 75, Peter Karmis 72 74, Brooklin Bailey 68 78, Rourke van der Spuy 72 74, Ruan de Smidt 70 76, JJ Senekal 75 71, Ryan Cairns 73 73

MISSED THE CUT

147 - Stuart Smith 77 70, Wynand Dingle 73 74, Matthew Spacey 71 76, Merrick Bremner 73 74, James Pennington 71 76

148 - Adam Breen 72 76, Clayton Mansfield 72 76, Martin Vorster 75 73, Callum Mowat 75 73, James Mack 77 71, Therion Nel 75 73, Teaghan Gauche 77 71, Albert Venter 73 75, Michael Palmer 76 72, Leon Vorster 72 76

149 - Aneurin Gounden 75 74, Kyle Barker 71 78, Stefan Wears-Taylor 74 75, Michael Kok 75 74, Doug McGuigan 72 77, Richard Joubert 76 73, Ruan Korb 73 76, Dayne Moore 74 75

150 - Lwazi Gqira 76 74, Kevin Rhoderick 73 77, Nikhil Rama 75 75

151 - Henning du Plooy 76 75, Toto Thimba Jnr 76 75, Tumelo Molloyi 77 74, Andre De Decker 73 78, Tristin Galant 76 75, Rhys West 75 76, Paul Boshoff 73 78

152 - Wade Jacobs 74 78, Gerard du Plooy 73 79, Jake Bolton 77 75, Kyle McClatchie 76 76

153 - Heinrich Bruiners 78 75, Estiaan Conradie 78 75, Jovan Rebula 79 74

154 - Evance Vukeya 74 80, Allister de Kock 76 78, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 77 77, Wallie Coetsee 74 80

155 - Alphius Kelapile 75 80, Jastice Mashego 78 77, Vaughn van Deventer 80 75, Clancy Waugh 74 81

159 - Steven Le Roux 77 82, Joshua Seale 80 79

160 - Gareth Sargent 80 80, Keelan Africa 75 85, Thabang Simon 77 83, Keelan van Wyk 80 80

164 - Mandla Dlamini Jnr 78 86