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Johannesburg - It’s not as if he doesn’t believe in himself, but Wynand Dingle felt a little nervous on his way to a superb nine-under-par 63 to grab a three-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the R3.75-million Telkom Business PGA Championship on Friday.
He didn’t drop a single stroke on his way to a three-under-par 33 for his first nine after starting his second round on the 10th, and then he blitzed the front nine of Country Club Johannesburg’s Woodmead course in 30 strokes with six more birdies to pull clear of the field.
In second place were 2011 champion and current Joburg Open champion George Coetzee, the highest-ranked player in the field, and Sunshine Tour veteran Ulrich van den Berg, who saw decent scores of 69 and 70 respectively prove insufficient to keep Dingle a little closer.
“I got a little bit nervous when I saw some cameras appear, but I managed to finish two-under in the last three, so I’m really swinging it well,” said Dingle of his fabulous round.
“That shows that if you believe in your ability and what you’re working on then even under pressure it doesn’t crack, it builds up.”
And Dingle had to do some work after he carded a 69 in the first round with three bogeys on his card.
“That was the best 69 I’ve ever made,” he said.
“I was struggling yesterday and only hit three fairways, just hitting it badly off the tee. I worked a little bit with my coach, Neil Cheetham, yesterday and I fixed it on the range.”
Coincidentally, his coach also had a good day at the office: Cheetham carded a bogey-free round himself, making six birdies for a 66 to move into a share of ninth behind his protégé.
“He can play a bit,” smiled Cheetham as Dingle did the rounds with the media after his round.
Van den Berg’s round was a fighting effort, with just three birdies and a bogey on the card, and it’s that kind of grit for which he is renowned and which he will bring to bear in the final two rounds as the tension increases.
Coetzee holed his approach on the first for an eagle-two after he started his round on the 10th, but two bogeys nullified the effect of that, and three more birdies made up his 69.
There were five players on eight-under-par at halfway: Merrick Bremner, Danie van Tonder, Oliver Bekker and rookies Rhys West and Erik van Rooyen – both of whom are returning to South Africa after collegiate careers in the United States – find themselves four adrift of the flying Dingle.
Dingle, 29, learned his golf on the dusty fairways of Colesberg, but he’s at home on the lush grass in this tournament.
“This course really suits me and it’s one of my favourites in Joburg,” he said.
Now that he has built up a head of steam, he could be really tough to catch.
“I believe in momentum and confidence. If you’re low on confidence in this game it’s the worst place to be, but if you have it you can go far,” he said.
“I was very confident. I was playing well and I like this golf course.
“This was the lowest I’ve gone on the Sunshine Tour and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to doing.
“It’s all got to start again tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that first tee shot and we’ll see where we go from there.
“If I continue to get those things right then I’ll be there on Sunday.”
Scores (RSA unless stated):
132 - Wynand Dingle 69 63
135 - George Coetzee 66 69, Ulrich van den Berg 65 70
136 - Merrick Bremner 67 69, Danie van Tonder 67 69, Rhys West 68 68, Erik van Rooyen 69 67, Oliver Bekker 65 71
137 - Vaughn Groenewald 70 67, Tyrone Ferreira 70 67, Keenan Davidse 67 70, Neil Cheetham 71 66, Titch Moore 68 69
138 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 70 68, James Kingston 69 69, Darren Fichardt 70 68, JJ Senekal 70 68
139 - Morne Buys 68 71, Jbe' Kruger 71 68, Daniel Greene 69 70
140 - Jaco Ahlers 71 69, Pieter Moolman 70 70, Francesco Laporta 69 71, Andrew Curlewis 70 70, Christiaan Basson 67 73, Doug McGuigan 69 71, James Kamte 68 72, Colin Nel 68 72, Torben Baumann 71 69
141 - Lyle Rowe 73 68, Jacques Blaauw 71 70, Callum Mowat 70 71, Shaun Smith 66 75, Haydn Porteous 68 73, Divan van den Heever 70 71, Ruan de Smidt 67 74, Jean Hugo 69 72, JC Ritchie 73 68
142 - Alex Haindl 71 71, Jake Redman 74 68, Warren Abery 70 72, Adilson Da Silva 69 73, Dean Burmester 72 70, Peter Karmis 72 70, Neil Schietekat 72 70, Andrew Georgiou 71 71, Steven Ferreira 69 73, Stuart Smith 72 70
143 - Jack Harrison 70 73, Allan Versfeld 69 74, Anthony Michael 70 73, Ryan Thompson 72 71, Le Roux Ferreira 74 69, Ryan Tipping 71 72, Heinrich Bruiners 74 69, Prinavin Nelson 70 73, Alan McLean 70 73
144 - Toto Thimba 71 73, Dylan Frittelli 74 70, PH McIntyre 71 73, Shaun Norris 72 72, Steve Surry 70 74, Teboho Sefatsa 70 74, Ross Wellington 70 74, Graham van der Merwe 73 71, Rhys Enoch 69 75, Drikus van der Walt 72 72, Francois Coetzee 72 72, Eddie Taylor 73 71
Missed the cut:
145 - Makhetha Mazibuko 72 73, Chris Swanepoel 72 73, Jaco Prinsloo 72 73, Grant Muller 73 72, Martin du Toit 75 70, Jared Harvey 72 73, Theunis Spangenberg 71 74
146 - Riekus Nortje 73 73, Bryce Easton 72 74, Michael Hollick 73 73, Hendrik Buhrmann 77 69, Andre Cruse 74 72, Louis Moolman 71 75, Adrian Ford 73 73, Gert Myburgh 71 75, Justin Turner 77 69, Darryn Lloyd 72 74, Charl Coetzee 68 78, Brandon Pieters 74 72
147 - CJ du Plessis 72 75, Jean-Paul Strydom 71 76, Lindani Ndwandwe 73 74, Dean O'Riley 74 73, Jaco Van Zyl 73 74, Michiel Bothma 71 76, Johan du Buisson 74 73
148 - Louis Calitz 76 72, Blanche Lamprecht 73 75, Maritz Wessels 73 75, Ryan Cairns 78 70, Desvonde Botes 76 72, Matthew Carvell 73 75, Derick Petersen 79 69, TC Charamba 71 77, Attie Schwartzel 70 78, Tyrone Mordt 73 75, Justin Harding 75 73, Tyrone Ryan 76 72
149 - Clifford Howes 74 75, Micky Hough 72 77, Juan Langeveld 71 78, Ockie Strydom 78 71, JG Claassen 77 72, Jacques Kruyswijk 75 74, Thabang Simon 74 75, Alan Michell 72 77, Bryce Bibby 77 72
150 - Jeff Inglis 72 78, Yubin Jung 78 72, Rudy Whitfield 74 76, Gideon Pienaar 78 72, Kevin Stone 73 77, Mark Murless 75 75
151 - Jandre Nel 76 75, Ryan Strauss 75 76, Kenneth Dube 72 79, Greg Bentley 76 75, Andrew Light 75 76, Dale Howie 72 79, Michael du Toit 78 73
152 - Drikus Bruyns 78 74, Bennie van der Merwe 75 77, Diether Schuss 77 75
153 - Nic Henning 76 77, Desne van den Bergh 81 72, Sheldon Steyn 78 75, Wallie Coetsee 78 75
154 - Pieter Kruger 81 73, Allister de Kock 78 76, Tertius van den Berg 77 77, Roberto Lupini 80 74, Coenie Stoop 73 81, Stefan Engell Andersen 77 77
156 - Thomas Raatgever 78 78
157 - Derek James 79 78, Paul Marks 80 77, Paul de Beer 77 80
158 - Terence Salo 78 80, Mike Maile 80 78, Peter Berman 78 80
159 - TJ Bekker 82 77
161 - Ben Fouchee 82 79
166 - Louis Botha 85 81
167 - Karl Haessler 84 83
WD - Keith Horne 70 WD, John Bele 74 WD
DQ - Louis de Jager 74 DQ
He didn’t drop a single stroke on his way to a three-under-par 33 for his first nine after starting his second round on the 10th, and then he blitzed the front nine of Country Club Johannesburg’s Woodmead course in 30 strokes with six more birdies to pull clear of the field.
In second place were 2011 champion and current Joburg Open champion George Coetzee, the highest-ranked player in the field, and Sunshine Tour veteran Ulrich van den Berg, who saw decent scores of 69 and 70 respectively prove insufficient to keep Dingle a little closer.
“I got a little bit nervous when I saw some cameras appear, but I managed to finish two-under in the last three, so I’m really swinging it well,” said Dingle of his fabulous round.
“That shows that if you believe in your ability and what you’re working on then even under pressure it doesn’t crack, it builds up.”
And Dingle had to do some work after he carded a 69 in the first round with three bogeys on his card.
“That was the best 69 I’ve ever made,” he said.
“I was struggling yesterday and only hit three fairways, just hitting it badly off the tee. I worked a little bit with my coach, Neil Cheetham, yesterday and I fixed it on the range.”
Coincidentally, his coach also had a good day at the office: Cheetham carded a bogey-free round himself, making six birdies for a 66 to move into a share of ninth behind his protégé.
“He can play a bit,” smiled Cheetham as Dingle did the rounds with the media after his round.
Van den Berg’s round was a fighting effort, with just three birdies and a bogey on the card, and it’s that kind of grit for which he is renowned and which he will bring to bear in the final two rounds as the tension increases.
Coetzee holed his approach on the first for an eagle-two after he started his round on the 10th, but two bogeys nullified the effect of that, and three more birdies made up his 69.
There were five players on eight-under-par at halfway: Merrick Bremner, Danie van Tonder, Oliver Bekker and rookies Rhys West and Erik van Rooyen – both of whom are returning to South Africa after collegiate careers in the United States – find themselves four adrift of the flying Dingle.
Dingle, 29, learned his golf on the dusty fairways of Colesberg, but he’s at home on the lush grass in this tournament.
“This course really suits me and it’s one of my favourites in Joburg,” he said.
Now that he has built up a head of steam, he could be really tough to catch.
“I believe in momentum and confidence. If you’re low on confidence in this game it’s the worst place to be, but if you have it you can go far,” he said.
“I was very confident. I was playing well and I like this golf course.
“This was the lowest I’ve gone on the Sunshine Tour and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to doing.
“It’s all got to start again tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that first tee shot and we’ll see where we go from there.
“If I continue to get those things right then I’ll be there on Sunday.”
Scores (RSA unless stated):
132 - Wynand Dingle 69 63
135 - George Coetzee 66 69, Ulrich van den Berg 65 70
136 - Merrick Bremner 67 69, Danie van Tonder 67 69, Rhys West 68 68, Erik van Rooyen 69 67, Oliver Bekker 65 71
137 - Vaughn Groenewald 70 67, Tyrone Ferreira 70 67, Keenan Davidse 67 70, Neil Cheetham 71 66, Titch Moore 68 69
138 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 70 68, James Kingston 69 69, Darren Fichardt 70 68, JJ Senekal 70 68
139 - Morne Buys 68 71, Jbe' Kruger 71 68, Daniel Greene 69 70
140 - Jaco Ahlers 71 69, Pieter Moolman 70 70, Francesco Laporta 69 71, Andrew Curlewis 70 70, Christiaan Basson 67 73, Doug McGuigan 69 71, James Kamte 68 72, Colin Nel 68 72, Torben Baumann 71 69
141 - Lyle Rowe 73 68, Jacques Blaauw 71 70, Callum Mowat 70 71, Shaun Smith 66 75, Haydn Porteous 68 73, Divan van den Heever 70 71, Ruan de Smidt 67 74, Jean Hugo 69 72, JC Ritchie 73 68
142 - Alex Haindl 71 71, Jake Redman 74 68, Warren Abery 70 72, Adilson Da Silva 69 73, Dean Burmester 72 70, Peter Karmis 72 70, Neil Schietekat 72 70, Andrew Georgiou 71 71, Steven Ferreira 69 73, Stuart Smith 72 70
143 - Jack Harrison 70 73, Allan Versfeld 69 74, Anthony Michael 70 73, Ryan Thompson 72 71, Le Roux Ferreira 74 69, Ryan Tipping 71 72, Heinrich Bruiners 74 69, Prinavin Nelson 70 73, Alan McLean 70 73
144 - Toto Thimba 71 73, Dylan Frittelli 74 70, PH McIntyre 71 73, Shaun Norris 72 72, Steve Surry 70 74, Teboho Sefatsa 70 74, Ross Wellington 70 74, Graham van der Merwe 73 71, Rhys Enoch 69 75, Drikus van der Walt 72 72, Francois Coetzee 72 72, Eddie Taylor 73 71
Missed the cut:
145 - Makhetha Mazibuko 72 73, Chris Swanepoel 72 73, Jaco Prinsloo 72 73, Grant Muller 73 72, Martin du Toit 75 70, Jared Harvey 72 73, Theunis Spangenberg 71 74
146 - Riekus Nortje 73 73, Bryce Easton 72 74, Michael Hollick 73 73, Hendrik Buhrmann 77 69, Andre Cruse 74 72, Louis Moolman 71 75, Adrian Ford 73 73, Gert Myburgh 71 75, Justin Turner 77 69, Darryn Lloyd 72 74, Charl Coetzee 68 78, Brandon Pieters 74 72
147 - CJ du Plessis 72 75, Jean-Paul Strydom 71 76, Lindani Ndwandwe 73 74, Dean O'Riley 74 73, Jaco Van Zyl 73 74, Michiel Bothma 71 76, Johan du Buisson 74 73
148 - Louis Calitz 76 72, Blanche Lamprecht 73 75, Maritz Wessels 73 75, Ryan Cairns 78 70, Desvonde Botes 76 72, Matthew Carvell 73 75, Derick Petersen 79 69, TC Charamba 71 77, Attie Schwartzel 70 78, Tyrone Mordt 73 75, Justin Harding 75 73, Tyrone Ryan 76 72
149 - Clifford Howes 74 75, Micky Hough 72 77, Juan Langeveld 71 78, Ockie Strydom 78 71, JG Claassen 77 72, Jacques Kruyswijk 75 74, Thabang Simon 74 75, Alan Michell 72 77, Bryce Bibby 77 72
150 - Jeff Inglis 72 78, Yubin Jung 78 72, Rudy Whitfield 74 76, Gideon Pienaar 78 72, Kevin Stone 73 77, Mark Murless 75 75
151 - Jandre Nel 76 75, Ryan Strauss 75 76, Kenneth Dube 72 79, Greg Bentley 76 75, Andrew Light 75 76, Dale Howie 72 79, Michael du Toit 78 73
152 - Drikus Bruyns 78 74, Bennie van der Merwe 75 77, Diether Schuss 77 75
153 - Nic Henning 76 77, Desne van den Bergh 81 72, Sheldon Steyn 78 75, Wallie Coetsee 78 75
154 - Pieter Kruger 81 73, Allister de Kock 78 76, Tertius van den Berg 77 77, Roberto Lupini 80 74, Coenie Stoop 73 81, Stefan Engell Andersen 77 77
156 - Thomas Raatgever 78 78
157 - Derek James 79 78, Paul Marks 80 77, Paul de Beer 77 80
158 - Terence Salo 78 80, Mike Maile 80 78, Peter Berman 78 80
159 - TJ Bekker 82 77
161 - Ben Fouchee 82 79
166 - Louis Botha 85 81
167 - Karl Haessler 84 83
WD - Keith Horne 70 WD, John Bele 74 WD
DQ - Louis de Jager 74 DQ
