Andrew Williamson says while he wasn’t in control of many situations during his second round of the Altron Big Easy Tour event at Blue Valley Golf Estate on Wednesday, he was happy to shoot a 66 which placed him atop the leaderboard ahead of the final round.
On nine-under-par for the tournament and a stroke clear of the field, and thanks to a near-perfect six-under 66 on day two, Williamson knows he has a real chance of walking off the course a champion on Thursday.
He was playing solid golf on day two and were it not for the bogey he made on 15, his would have been a blemish-free round.
“You know, when we walked off the ninth green, I told Connor (Mackenzie) that sometimes you are not in control. There’s just a wave that you catch and I kind of just rode the wave today,” said Williamson.
“I just did my thing. I just let things happen and didn’t try to control too much and the result was a really solid day out. I’m happy with how I played and my game felt good. I did struggle around the greens in some instances but luckily, I hit a few greens so I didn’t have to worry too much about getting up and down too much.”
Williamson started the second round from the 10th tee and made three straight pars as he sought to avoid any big number early on in the day.
His patience was rewarded with a birdie on his fourth but those gains were taken from, no thanks to the drop he made on the par-three 15th, his sixth hole of the day. Williamson made up for the drop with a birdie just before the turn.
That birdie proved to be the first of four, one after the other, and from there on, the Irene Golf Club player didn’t make any more mistakes.
STILL A LOT OF GOLF TO BE PLAYED
He birdied his 16th, made par on 17 and then closed off with another birdie to get himself into contention.
“There were quite a few key moments which really kept me in the round today,” Williams added.
“On the first, which was my 10th hole, I hit a really nice approach there; to about three feet. I made a birdie there and then on the second hole, I didn’t hit a really good shot. But, I made a long putt to get to three under for the round and then on the fourth, I made another great putt.”
Williamson knows, however, that there is still a lot of golf to be played and, with as many challengers as there will be, patience will be key.
LB Boshoff leads the chasing pack on eight-under while Caylum Boon’s 69 helped to a total of seven-under with 18 holes to play.
“I have not been in this situation too many times but I have learnt from that one experience I have had,” said Williamson, noting the pressure that comes with being where he is currently – the top.
“I think it’s a privilege to be in this position because this is what we play for; why we put in the work and the hours. We want to win golf tournaments. And I think the pressure that comes with that is also a privilege.”
Last week’s winner, Travis Ladner, Dylan O’Leary, Xander Basson, Stals Swart and Samuel Simpson are only three back and either one will fancy their chances at glory on Thursday.
Harry Konig, Christopher Long and overnight leader, Slade Pickering tie the ninth spot on five-under-par.
SCORES:
135 - Andrew Williamson 69 66
136 - LB Boshoff 68 68
137 - Caylum Boon 68 69
138 - Travis Ladner 68 70, Dylan O'Leary 68 70, Xander Basson 71 67, Stals Swart 71 67, Samuel Simpson 73 65
139 - Harry Konig 70 69, Slade Pickering 65 74, Christopher Long 69 70
140 - Thabang Simon 69 71, Cameron Moralee 68 72, Andrew McLardy 70 70
141 - Leon Vorster 70 71, Ricky Hendler 71 70, Reece Mc Kain 71 70, Lyle Pedro 68 73, DK Kim 72 69, Reinhardt Blaauw 70 71, Franklin Manchest 71 70, Ruan de Smidt 72 69
142 - Pierre Pellegrin 68 74, Ruan Groenewald 70 72, Christian Kriek 71 71, Jason Roets 71 71
143 - Luan Steenkamp 73 70, Carlo Heunis 74 69, Andre Van Dyk 71 72, Aneurin Gounden 70 73, Paul Boshoff 75 68, Dayne Moore 72 71, Keegan Mclachlan 73 70
Missed the cut:
144 - Leon Visser 73 71, Warwick Purchase 69 75, Conner Mackenzie 70 74, Werner Deyzel 67 77, Ruan Conradie 74 70
145 - Tyrone Ryan 73 72, Ryan Tipping 72 73, Henning du Plooy 73 72, Philip Geerts 71 74, Jacquin Hess 74 71, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 71 74, Jason Froneman 75 70, Noel Anderson 72 73
146 - Keelan Africa 71 75, James Pennington 76 70, Mandla Dlamini Jnr 74 72, Therion Nel 70 76, Nicholaus Frade 77 69, Carlos Laranja 72 74, Sentanio Minnie 78 68, Matthew Rushton 73 73
147 - Francois Van der Walt 72 75, Brandon Pieters 74 73, Jabulane Mabilane 73 74, Gerard du Plooy 76 71
148 - Johan Theron 75 73, Evance Vukeya 74 74, Shalan Govender 74 74, Thabiso Ngcobo 77 71, Andre De Decker 79 69, Makhetha Mazibuko 76 72, Burt Gildenhuys 77 71
149 - Lwazi Gqira 75 74, Wade Jacobs 74 75, Jastice Mashego 76 73, Rigardt Albertse 75 74, Siphiwe Siphayi 74 75, Zabastian de Jager 71 78, Steven Le Roux 77 72, Allister de Kock 74 75
150 - Maritz Wessels 76 74, Luke Trocado 74 76, Siyanda Mwandla 72 78, Karabo Mokoena 75 75, Francois van Staden 76 74, Alphius Kelapile 71 79, Brandon-Jude Rennie 78 72
151 - Slenda Sithebe 74 77, Coert Groenewald 77 74, Brandon Gildenhuys 76 75
153 - Sabelo Xolani Majola 78 75
154 - Jonathan Waschefort 75 79
155 - Shaheed Patel 77 78, Irvin Mazibuko 78 77, Ricco Motsa 79 76, Elliot Bradley 78 77, Fezekile Kana 77 78
156 - Mark Maart 80 76, Tumelo Molloyi 81 75
159 - Jordan Duminy 82 77
160 - Londa Mngadi 80 80
168 - Gerard Moodley 85 83
RTD - Llewellyn Leibrandt 87 RTD, Brandon Moodley RTD RTD