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Johannesburg – James Kamte is always pretty long off the tee, and that advantage saw him to a superb seven-under-par 65 on Friday and the lead after the second round of the R550,000 Sun City Challenge at the Lost City Golf Club.
He moved to 10-under-par 134, one stroke ahead of Bryce Easton, who raced home with three consecutive birdies to take second on his own.
He was also two strokes clear of Callie Swart, Andrew Georgiou and Brandon Pieters after his round of nine birdies and two bogeys on the 6,983-metre layout.
“I’m hitting the ball a pretty good distance,” he said, “especially this week – driving it close to the greens and chipping well, so I hope I can do things tomorrow a little bit better than today.”
And while distance helps on any course, in the end getting the ball in the hole is the point of the game, and Kamte has been thriving on the greens. “I’m just going to keep my putting the way it is,” he said.
That’s working: He had 10 one-putts in his second round in a total of 26 for the round – three better than he achieved in the first round when two bogeys and a double saw him card a 69.
He birdied all four of the par-fives, and the only fives on his scorecard came with his bogeys on the 365-metre fifth and the 360-metre 12th – coincidentally the two shortest par-fours on the course.
Easton was not having a good day until he hit the final three holes. “I was not feeling good out there – I’m getting flu or something, so it was a relief to make a few putts and get into the mix,” he said.
Pieters ground his way through his round, and was relieved to finish it one-under-par. “Three or four month ago, a grind would have given me a 76 or 77,” he said. “There are some positives – not the least of which was the three birdies.”
Georgiou was a bit frustrated after his two-under-par 70 saw him move to eight-under for the tournament. “I played so nicely all day,” he said, “and just at the end, there were one or two loose shots. This course will get you!”
He had recovered from a bogey on the sixth after two early birdies, and had eased his way to 10-under – and he fell foul of the 14th, one of the more difficult holes on the course. A bogey there and then another on 17, which is the second-toughest on the course, saw him limp home.
But he was unbowed ahead of the final round: “I want to do this for my American sister,” he said. “She’s been going through a rough time, so I really want to do well and dedicate it to her.”
Swart quietly went about his business in the morning. He kept bogeys off his card. “This week, it’s just been the one drop yesterday,” he said after his second-round 69. “I feel that my golf is getting back, and so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
There will be a bit of chasing to be done if Kamte is to be hauled in: “The way I’m hitting it, I just want to make every hole as easy as possible,” said Kamte. “I just think around here, every hole is a birdie hole for me. I’ve just got to be clever and put the ball in play off the tee.”
Scores (RSA unless specified):
134 - James Kamte 69 65
135 - Bryce Easton 66 69
136 - Callie Swart 67 69, Andrew Georgiou 66 70, Brandon Pieters 65 71
137 - Johan du Buisson 66 71, Grant Muller 70 67, Oliver Bekker 69 68, Justin Walters 70 67
138 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 66 72, Allan Versfeld 66 72, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 68 70
139 - Des Terblanche 71 68, Doug McGuigan 68 71, Jake Redman 69 70
140 - Merrick Bremner 70 70, Ulrich van den Berg 72 68, Andre Cruse 71 69, Louis de Jager 71 69, Daniel Hammond 66 74, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 67 73
141 - Theunis Spangenberg 69 72, Lindani Ndwandwe 70 71, Hendrik Buhrmann 71 70, Jacques Blaauw 71 70
142 - Morne Buys 72 70, Danie van Tonder 69 73, Titch Moore 70 72, Ryan Tipping 73 69
143 - Ruan de Smidt 71 72, Jean Hugo 71 72, Shaun Norris 71 72, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 70 73, Christiaan Basson 72 71, Jake Roos 73 70
144 - Ross Wellington 73 71, Jaco Ahlers 74 70, Alan Michell 76 68, Divan van den Heever 72 72, Colin Nel 71 73, Dean O'Riley 72 72, Desvonde Botes 70 74
Missed the cut:-
145 - Wallie Coetsee 71 74, PH McIntyre 71 74, Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 72 73, Mark Williams 77 68, Andrew Curlewis 70 75, Matthew Carvell 71 74
146 - Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 70 76, Bradford Vaughan 71 75, Vaughn Groenewald 73 73, Louis Calitz 72 74, Daniel Greene 76 70, Mark Murless 75 71
147 - Johann Mostert 72 75, Brett Liddle 73 74, Charl Coetzee 75 72
148 - Michiel Bothma 72 76, Ockie Strydom 79 69
149 - Dion Fourie 76 73, Tyrone Mordt 75 74, Jared Harvey 76 73
150 - Omar Sandys 76 74, Gary Birch Jr (GER) 75 75, Steven Ferreira 74 76, JG Claassen 75 75
152 - Michael Scholz 78 74, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 79 73, Albert Pistorius 73 79
153 - Prinavin Nelson 76 77, Justin Harding 80 73
159 - Dean Burmester 80 79
He moved to 10-under-par 134, one stroke ahead of Bryce Easton, who raced home with three consecutive birdies to take second on his own.
He was also two strokes clear of Callie Swart, Andrew Georgiou and Brandon Pieters after his round of nine birdies and two bogeys on the 6,983-metre layout.
“I’m hitting the ball a pretty good distance,” he said, “especially this week – driving it close to the greens and chipping well, so I hope I can do things tomorrow a little bit better than today.”
And while distance helps on any course, in the end getting the ball in the hole is the point of the game, and Kamte has been thriving on the greens. “I’m just going to keep my putting the way it is,” he said.
That’s working: He had 10 one-putts in his second round in a total of 26 for the round – three better than he achieved in the first round when two bogeys and a double saw him card a 69.
He birdied all four of the par-fives, and the only fives on his scorecard came with his bogeys on the 365-metre fifth and the 360-metre 12th – coincidentally the two shortest par-fours on the course.
Easton was not having a good day until he hit the final three holes. “I was not feeling good out there – I’m getting flu or something, so it was a relief to make a few putts and get into the mix,” he said.
Pieters ground his way through his round, and was relieved to finish it one-under-par. “Three or four month ago, a grind would have given me a 76 or 77,” he said. “There are some positives – not the least of which was the three birdies.”
Georgiou was a bit frustrated after his two-under-par 70 saw him move to eight-under for the tournament. “I played so nicely all day,” he said, “and just at the end, there were one or two loose shots. This course will get you!”
He had recovered from a bogey on the sixth after two early birdies, and had eased his way to 10-under – and he fell foul of the 14th, one of the more difficult holes on the course. A bogey there and then another on 17, which is the second-toughest on the course, saw him limp home.
But he was unbowed ahead of the final round: “I want to do this for my American sister,” he said. “She’s been going through a rough time, so I really want to do well and dedicate it to her.”
Swart quietly went about his business in the morning. He kept bogeys off his card. “This week, it’s just been the one drop yesterday,” he said after his second-round 69. “I feel that my golf is getting back, and so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
There will be a bit of chasing to be done if Kamte is to be hauled in: “The way I’m hitting it, I just want to make every hole as easy as possible,” said Kamte. “I just think around here, every hole is a birdie hole for me. I’ve just got to be clever and put the ball in play off the tee.”
Scores (RSA unless specified):
134 - James Kamte 69 65
135 - Bryce Easton 66 69
136 - Callie Swart 67 69, Andrew Georgiou 66 70, Brandon Pieters 65 71
137 - Johan du Buisson 66 71, Grant Muller 70 67, Oliver Bekker 69 68, Justin Walters 70 67
138 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 66 72, Allan Versfeld 66 72, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 68 70
139 - Des Terblanche 71 68, Doug McGuigan 68 71, Jake Redman 69 70
140 - Merrick Bremner 70 70, Ulrich van den Berg 72 68, Andre Cruse 71 69, Louis de Jager 71 69, Daniel Hammond 66 74, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 67 73
141 - Theunis Spangenberg 69 72, Lindani Ndwandwe 70 71, Hendrik Buhrmann 71 70, Jacques Blaauw 71 70
142 - Morne Buys 72 70, Danie van Tonder 69 73, Titch Moore 70 72, Ryan Tipping 73 69
143 - Ruan de Smidt 71 72, Jean Hugo 71 72, Shaun Norris 71 72, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 70 73, Christiaan Basson 72 71, Jake Roos 73 70
144 - Ross Wellington 73 71, Jaco Ahlers 74 70, Alan Michell 76 68, Divan van den Heever 72 72, Colin Nel 71 73, Dean O'Riley 72 72, Desvonde Botes 70 74
Missed the cut:-
145 - Wallie Coetsee 71 74, PH McIntyre 71 74, Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 72 73, Mark Williams 77 68, Andrew Curlewis 70 75, Matthew Carvell 71 74
146 - Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 70 76, Bradford Vaughan 71 75, Vaughn Groenewald 73 73, Louis Calitz 72 74, Daniel Greene 76 70, Mark Murless 75 71
147 - Johann Mostert 72 75, Brett Liddle 73 74, Charl Coetzee 75 72
148 - Michiel Bothma 72 76, Ockie Strydom 79 69
149 - Dion Fourie 76 73, Tyrone Mordt 75 74, Jared Harvey 76 73
150 - Omar Sandys 76 74, Gary Birch Jr (GER) 75 75, Steven Ferreira 74 76, JG Claassen 75 75
152 - Michael Scholz 78 74, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 79 73, Albert Pistorius 73 79
153 - Prinavin Nelson 76 77, Justin Harding 80 73
159 - Dean Burmester 80 79
