An emotional Keenan Davidse has dealt with the loss of two people he was very close to and said it has fuelled the golf he’s played to claim a share of the lead going into the weekend of the NMB Championship at Humewood Golf Club.
Davidse signed for a second round of 66 on Friday to share the lead with Swede Bjorn Akesson on 14 under par. Akesson signed for a second round of 67.
They are one stroke clear of Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell following his 65, while South Africa’s Jaco Prinsloo, England’s Lee Slattery and Frenchman Martin Couvra are all on 12 under par.
Davidse played solid golf on Friday without dropping any shots but said it’s been an emotional week for him.
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“I’m quite emotional this week. My coach Arnold Mentz passed away two days ago and my aunt who I was very close to also passed away. I have two special angels looking over me this week and that’s my motivation. I’ve been struggling and I’m just using that as fuel at the moment,” he said.
Two special angels looking over Keenan Davidse this week 👼#NMBChampionship | @Sunshine_Tour pic.twitter.com/k4sNWJ6XYo
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He also took advantage of a favourable draw as the benign conditions continued at Humewood.
“The conditions were good in the morning. It was only the last five or six holes where it became a bit windy. Humewood is known for its wind and it can get brutal out here so if the wind does come on the weekend it will be interesting. But you can’t predict anything here. I’m leading the tournament, but anything can happen here,” he said.
Yet it’s precisely the unpredictability of links golf that Davidse enjoys.
“Links golf is tough and you need a little bit of luck,” he said of his chip-in for birdie on the eighth. “But I enjoy it. I like hitting it low in the wind. I enjoy the creativity. You can hit a few off-shots and get lucky with the slopes. You just need to avoid the bunkers on a links course.”
SCORES:
- 14 - Keenan Davidse 64 66, Bjorn Akesson 63 67
-13 - Jonathan Caldwell 66 65
- 12 - Jaco Prinsloo 68 64, Lee Slattery 65 67, Martin Couvra 61 71, Hayden Hopewell 63 69
-11 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 67 66, Anthony Michael 64 69
-10 - Angel Ayora 67 67, Pierre Pineau 65 69, Luca Cianchetti 66 68, JC Ritchie 64 70
-9 - Robin Williams 65 70, Jacques Blaauw 68 67, Tom Shadbolt 69 66
-8 - Martin Vorster 70 66, Nikhil Rama 72 64, Zan Stirn 69 67, Romain Wattel 68 68, Nicolai Kristensen 69 67, Hamish Brown 69 67
-7 - Danie Van Niekerk 64 73, Christiaan Basson 68 69, Keelan van Wyk 68 69, Euan Walker 67 70, Jake Redman 70 67, Luca Filippi 68 69
-6 - Lyle Rowe 70 68, Bradley Bawden 67 71, Jeremy Freiburghaus 69 69, Dylan Naidoo 69 69, Franklin Manchest 71 67, Wynand Dingle 68 70, David Langley 68 70, Dan Erickson 68 70, Daniel van Tonder 66 72, Kyle Barker 67 71, Louis Albertse 68 70