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Field chasing Van der Berg at Wild Coast

Wild Coast - Eric van Rooyen was in contention for the second time in two weeks after he shot 67 on Thursday to put himself within two shots of the Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge lead, according to the Sunshine Tour website.

“I’ve learnt quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. I didn’t finish great last week and I’ll take the positives out of that and play steady golf tomorrow. I’m two off the pace and in a great spot, so anything could happen,” said the 25-year-old.

One week ago at the Vodacom Origins of Golf at San Lameer he had a crack at the title, but fell away after posting a final-round 82.

“I was a little hard on myself over the weekend and with the way I finished, but it’s about how you bounce back. I’ve done a good job of that this week and hopefully I can continue to play solid golf,” he said.

This week at Wild Coast Sun Country Club he’s managed to get straight back into the mix and will tee up in the final round with two strokes separating him and 36-hole leader Ulrich van den Berg.

The Sunshine Tour is a breeding ground for talent and Van Rooyen, who captained the University of Minnesota golf team in his college days, is aiming to springboard onto the Web.com Tour later this season.

“My goal is to make Web.com Qualifying School at the end of the year and all of this builds towards that. A win would be great, but if I don’t that’s okay, because I’m still working towards my goal. I’m playing well, so I’m happy enough,” he said.

In professional golf there is no substitute for a victory and the Cape Town local will be keen to get a maiden win under his belt, especially with this being his second chance in a fortnight.

Van den Berg played confident golf on Thursday to leave the competition in his wake. The seven-time Sunshine Tour champion’s love for the course was almost palpable as he went round in 64 and reached the 36-hole mark on 10-under-par.

“It’s one of our grand layouts. The land it traverses is amazing and to build a golf course on these hills is truly magnificent. There are some of the most dramatic golf holes here and it would be in my top five in South Africa, without a doubt,” he said.

Trailing closely behind was Vaughn Groenewald, who carded 67 for his second round and reached the clubhouse on nine-under.

“It was a tough day, but I was going nicely and managed to finish strong. I birdied four of the last six today and I’m feeling confident, so tomorrow should be good,” he said.

SCORES (RSA unless otherwise specified):

130 - Ulrich van den Berg 66 64

131 - Vaughn Groenewald 64 67

132 - Erik van Rooyen 65 67

134 - Desvonde Botes 64 70, PH McIntyre 67 67, Justin Harding 68 66, Jared Harvey 66 68, Jacques Blaauw 67 67, Jaco Van Zyl 66 68

135 - Theunis Spangenberg 67 68, Steven Ferreira 72 63, Lyle Rowe 67 68, Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 68 67, Andrew Curlewis 70 65

136 - Anthony Michael 70 66, Callum Mowat 68 68, Peter Karmis 70 66, Shaun Norris 67 69, Le Roux Ferreira 70 66, Christiaan Basson 67 69, Heinrich Bruiners 68 68, Andrew Georgiou (CYP) 64 72, Keith Horne 70 66, Jake Redman 66 70, Stuart Smith (BOT) 71 65

137 - Callie Swart 71 66, Justin Turner 67 70, Mark Williams (ZIM) 68 69, Doug McGuigan 68 69, Hennie du Plessis 68 69, Chris Swanepoel 69 68

138 - Francesco Laporta (ITA) 66 72, JJ Senekal 71 67, Lindani Ndwandwe 66 72, Eddie Taylor 69 69, Roberto Lupini 67 71, Jacquin Hess 68 70, Divan van den Heever 71 67, Zander Lombard 68 70, Jean Hugo 71 67, Daniel Greene 66 72

Missed the cut:

139 - Grant Veenstra 68 71, Neil Schietekat 69 70, Mark Murless 71 68, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 69 70, Rourke van der Spuy 68 71, Tyrone Mordt 69 70, Jaco Ahlers 67 72

140 - Rhys West 71 69, Allan Versfeld 70 70, Michael Hollick 70 70, Charl Coetzee 69 71, Ryan Tipping 66 74, Gert Myburgh 71 69, Bryce Easton 71 69, Bryce Bibby 72 68, Ruan de Smidt 67 73, Titch Moore 67 73, Colin Nel 70 70, Warren Abery 70 70, Alan Michell 69 71

141 - Tyrone Ferreira 75 66, Keenan Davidse 73 68, Shaun Smith 70 71, Drikus Bruyns 72 69, Dwayne Basson 69 72, Grant Muller 69 72, Pieter Moolman 70 71, Breyten Meyer 68 73, Daniel Hammond 70 71

142 - Juan Langeveld 72 70, Trevor Mahoney 71 71, Jean-Paul Strydom 73 69, Andre Cruse 71 71, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 71 71, CJ du Plessis 72 70

143 - Thanda Mavundla 73 70, Louis de Jager 70 73, Calvin Caldeira 73 70, Morne Buys 73 70, Coert Groenewald 71 72, Greg Bentley (ZIM) 70 73, Bennie van der Merwe 72 71, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 72 71, Derick Petersen 70 73, Dongkwan Kim (KOR) 70 73

144 - Wayne De Haas 71 73, Thabang Simon 74 70, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 71 73

145 - Lean Boezaart 74 71, Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 75 70, Jaco Prinsloo 74 71, Derik Ferreira 76 69, Louis Calitz 70 75, JC Ritchie 72 73, Bradford Vaughan 72 73, Allister de Kock 68 77

146 - Tyrone Ryan 71 75, Ockie Strydom 72 74, Gary Thompson (ZIM) 72 74, Teboho Sefatsa 71 75

147 - Shaun Coetzee 74 73, Arthur Horne (SWZ) 77 70, Werner van Niekerk 72 75, MJ Viljoen 74 73, Wallie Coetsee 69 78

148 - Etienne Bond 71 77, Russel Franz 77 71

149 - Makhetha Mazibuko 74 75, Divan Gerber 77 72, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 71 78, Otto van Greunen 74 75

150 - Andrew McLardy 76 74, Francois Coetzee 77 73, Antonio Rosado (POR) 71 79, Maritz Wessels 73 77, Altaaf Bux 74 76, Joe Nawanga (NAM) 71 79

152 - Dean Burmester 72 80

153 - Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 75 78, Michiel Bothma 76 77, Drikus van der Walt 73 80

156 - Tyron Roelofsz 75 81, Kevin Rundle 83 73, Luke Kelly 76 80

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