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Johannesburg - As a test, Glendower golf course is said to ask questions of every club in the bag. After almost two rounds of the BMG Classic on this course, the man with the most answers has been Hennie Otto.
With rounds of 65 and 68 Otto tops the leaderboard on 11-under par, which puts him one stroke clear in the clubhouse and with the second round set to be completed on Sunday morning before the start of the final round because of a weather delay on Saturday.
Ulrich van den Berg is his nearest challenger on 10-under following a 69 on Saturday, while Lyle Rowe stands on nine-under after a 68. Merrick Bremner and Dean Burmester are both at eight-under with nine holes of their second rounds to complete.
The leaderboard remains tightly packed, but with this tournament ushering in the lucrative summer leg of the Sunshine Tour and this golf course hosting the South African Open in a month’s time, now is the time for raising games in every aspect.
“The BMG always seems to kick-start that feeling of summer. It has that feel of the big events and the whole summer swing. It’s all about getting the game sharpened up for those summer events,” said Van Den Berg, who has shown his increased focus by making only one bogey in two days and working hard on raising the standard of his iron play.
“That’s why I’m here,” added Otto, as he too looks to this tournament as the platform from which to challenge for a second South African Open title in a few weeks’ time.
Otto still seems to be playing well within himself as he hunts a victory amidst a solid run in which he’s finished no worse than tied 12th in his last three tournaments on the European Tour.
“I’m just trying to groove a few things and repeat on what I’m doing well. There are still a few mistakes I need to sort out. Every week there are one or two holes that give me a bit of a nightmare. Maybe it’s just mental errors or maybe I’m just tired. But we’re getting there and we’re working on it. At least I know now where the ball is going.” His only mistake on Saturday was a double bogey seven on the second hole.
Rowe finds himself challenging again in a final round. The Port Elizabeth professional has recently finished second and third, and is drawing nearer to a maiden professional victory at exactly the right time of the season.
Incomplete scores from the second round of the BMG Classic (RSA unless otherwise specified):
-11 - Hennie Otto 65 68
-10 - Ulrich van den Berg 65 69
-9 - Lyle Rowe 67 68
-8 - CJ du Plessis 67 69, Merrick Bremner 68 (-4) [9], Dean Burmester 67 (-3) [9]
-7 - Warren Abery 67 70
-6 - Brett Liddle 68 70, Colin Nel 68 70, Titch Moore 69 (-3) [9], Oliver Bekker 67 (-1) [9]
-5 - Johan du Buisson 66 73, Anton Haig 69 (-2) [6]
-4 - Drikus van der Walt 68 72, Jbe' Kruger 70 70, Theunis Spangenberg 69 (-1) [6], Johan Bekker 69 (-1) [6]
-3 - Andre Cruse 70 71, Louis Moolman 69 72, Ruan de Smidt 67 74, Jean-Paul Strydom 72 69, Charl Coetzee 70 (-1) [9], Vaughn Groenewald 70 (-1) [9], Riekus Nortje 68 (+1) [9]
-2 - Shaun Smith 71 71, Erik van Rooyen 73 69, Ryan Strauss 74 68, Irvin Mazibuko 71 71, Matthew Carvell 69 73, Grant Veenstra 70 72, Jean Hugo 71 71, Adrian Ford 68 74, Madalitso Muthiya (ZAM) 72 (-2) [12], Mark Williams 70 (Par) [12], Wallie Coetsee 71 (-1) [9], Michael Hollick 69 (+1) [9], Ross Wellington 73 (-3) [9], Doug McGuigan 72 (-2) [9], Jared Harvey 69 (+1) [6], Toto Thimba (Jnr) 69 (+1) [6], Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 72 (-2) [6], Callie Swart 70 (Par) [6], TC Charamba (ZIM) 70 (Par) [6]
-1 - Drikus Bruyns 67 76, Derick Petersen 73 70, Tyrone Ferreira 71 72, Desvonde Botes 74 69, Morne Buys 70 73, Jacquin Hess 72 (-1) [12], Omar Sandys 70 (+1) [12], Jake Roos 69 (+2) [9], Jake Redman 72 (-1) [9], Prinavin Nelson 70 (+1) [6], Martin du Toit 71 (Par) [6]
Par - Torben Baumann (GER) 73 71, Stuart Smith (BOT) 71 73, Dean O'Riley 73 71, Michael du Toit 70 74, Louis de Jager 68 76, James Kamte 76 68, Ryan Tipping 71 73, Micky Hough (ZIM) 73 71, JG Claassen 71 73, Bennie van der Merwe 72 72, Neil Schietekat 69 (+3) [9], Andrew Curlewis 71 (+1) [9], Trevor Fisher Jnr 73 (-1) [9], Heinrich Bruiners 75 (-3) [9], Justin Harding 74 (-2) [9], Brandon Pieters 71 (+1) [6], Derik Ferreira 72 (Par) [6]
+1 - Lindani Ndwandwe 72 73, Attie Schwartzel 72 73, Coenie Bester 74 (-1) [12], JP van der Walt 70 (+3) [12], Grant Muller 70 (+3) [9], Christiaan Basson 70 (+3) [9], Haydn Porteous 74 (-1) [9], Kevin Stone 74 (-1) [6]
+2 - Daniel Hammond 75 71, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 73 73, Teboho Sefatsa 76 70, Rudy Whitfield 73 73, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 70 76, Desne van den Bergh 71 75, Francois Coetzee 77 (-3) [12], Beyers Smith 72 (+2) [12], PH McIntyre 70 (+4) [12], Anthony Michael 73 (+1) [9], Allan Versfeld 75 (-1) [6], Chris Erasmus 73 (+1) [6]
+3 - Bradford Vaughan 76 71, Ryan Thompson 75 72, John Bele 72 75, Wynand Dingle 77 (-2) [12], Ockie Strydom 74 (+1) [12], Tyrone Mordt 75 (Par) [9], Steven Ferreira 71 (+4) [6], Neil Cheetham (ENG) 73 (+2) [6], Alan Michell 74 (+1) [6]
+4 - Pieter Moolman 74 74, Tyrone Ryan 70 78, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 74 74, Pieter Kruger 74 (+2) [12], Graham van der Merwe 67 (+9) [9], Hendrik Buhrmann 74 (+2) [6], Ignatius Mketekete (ZIM) 75 (+1) [6], Bradley Sinnett 77 (-1) [6]
+5 - Makgetha Mazibuko 73 76, Juan Langeveld 73 76, Sipho Bujela 75 74, Coenie Stoop 77 (Par) [12]
+6 - Nic Henning 74 76, Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 72 78, Danie van Tonder 81 69, Alan McLean (SCO) 74 76, Louis Calitz 79 71, Divan Gerber 73 77, Alex Haindl 74 76, Gert Myburgh 72 78, Stuart Clark (WAL) 77 (+1) [12], Paul Bradshaw 74 (+4) [12], Chris Swanepoel 78 (Par) [9], JJ Senekal 79 (-1) [9]
+7 - Yubin Jung 75 76, Shaun Norris 80 71, Francesco Laporta (ITA) 72 79, Johan de Beer 72 79, Dion Fourie 80 71, Arthur Horne (SWZ) 73 (+6) [12], Duane Keun 77 (+2) [12], Roux Jeffery (NAM) 72 (+7) [12], Clifford Howes 78 (+1) [6]
+8 - Alpheus Kelapile 80 72, Jaco Ahlers 73 79, Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 75 (+5) [12], Kenneth Dube 79 (+1) [12], Maritz Wessels 78 (+2) [12]
+9 - Nelson Mudanyi (KEN) 79 74, Mark Murless 75 78, Willie van der Merwe 80 73, Keenan Davidse 78 75, Langley Perrins 77 (+4) [12], Mokgeteng J. Mashego 79 (+2) [6]
+10 - Mark Mahoney 74 80, Kyle Stevens 75 79, Joshua Cunliffe 79 (+3) [9]
+12 - Raymond Mathonsi (SWZ) 79 (+5) [12]
+15 - Reggie Adams 79 80, Wandile Gininda 76 (+11) [12]
+17 - Henk Alberts 74 87
+18 - Mikhail Tewary 80 (+10) [12]
+20 - Jonathan Raphunga 82 (+10) [12]
With rounds of 65 and 68 Otto tops the leaderboard on 11-under par, which puts him one stroke clear in the clubhouse and with the second round set to be completed on Sunday morning before the start of the final round because of a weather delay on Saturday.
Ulrich van den Berg is his nearest challenger on 10-under following a 69 on Saturday, while Lyle Rowe stands on nine-under after a 68. Merrick Bremner and Dean Burmester are both at eight-under with nine holes of their second rounds to complete.
The leaderboard remains tightly packed, but with this tournament ushering in the lucrative summer leg of the Sunshine Tour and this golf course hosting the South African Open in a month’s time, now is the time for raising games in every aspect.
“The BMG always seems to kick-start that feeling of summer. It has that feel of the big events and the whole summer swing. It’s all about getting the game sharpened up for those summer events,” said Van Den Berg, who has shown his increased focus by making only one bogey in two days and working hard on raising the standard of his iron play.
“That’s why I’m here,” added Otto, as he too looks to this tournament as the platform from which to challenge for a second South African Open title in a few weeks’ time.
Otto still seems to be playing well within himself as he hunts a victory amidst a solid run in which he’s finished no worse than tied 12th in his last three tournaments on the European Tour.
“I’m just trying to groove a few things and repeat on what I’m doing well. There are still a few mistakes I need to sort out. Every week there are one or two holes that give me a bit of a nightmare. Maybe it’s just mental errors or maybe I’m just tired. But we’re getting there and we’re working on it. At least I know now where the ball is going.” His only mistake on Saturday was a double bogey seven on the second hole.
Rowe finds himself challenging again in a final round. The Port Elizabeth professional has recently finished second and third, and is drawing nearer to a maiden professional victory at exactly the right time of the season.
Incomplete scores from the second round of the BMG Classic (RSA unless otherwise specified):
-11 - Hennie Otto 65 68
-10 - Ulrich van den Berg 65 69
-9 - Lyle Rowe 67 68
-8 - CJ du Plessis 67 69, Merrick Bremner 68 (-4) [9], Dean Burmester 67 (-3) [9]
-7 - Warren Abery 67 70
-6 - Brett Liddle 68 70, Colin Nel 68 70, Titch Moore 69 (-3) [9], Oliver Bekker 67 (-1) [9]
-5 - Johan du Buisson 66 73, Anton Haig 69 (-2) [6]
-4 - Drikus van der Walt 68 72, Jbe' Kruger 70 70, Theunis Spangenberg 69 (-1) [6], Johan Bekker 69 (-1) [6]
-3 - Andre Cruse 70 71, Louis Moolman 69 72, Ruan de Smidt 67 74, Jean-Paul Strydom 72 69, Charl Coetzee 70 (-1) [9], Vaughn Groenewald 70 (-1) [9], Riekus Nortje 68 (+1) [9]
-2 - Shaun Smith 71 71, Erik van Rooyen 73 69, Ryan Strauss 74 68, Irvin Mazibuko 71 71, Matthew Carvell 69 73, Grant Veenstra 70 72, Jean Hugo 71 71, Adrian Ford 68 74, Madalitso Muthiya (ZAM) 72 (-2) [12], Mark Williams 70 (Par) [12], Wallie Coetsee 71 (-1) [9], Michael Hollick 69 (+1) [9], Ross Wellington 73 (-3) [9], Doug McGuigan 72 (-2) [9], Jared Harvey 69 (+1) [6], Toto Thimba (Jnr) 69 (+1) [6], Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 72 (-2) [6], Callie Swart 70 (Par) [6], TC Charamba (ZIM) 70 (Par) [6]
-1 - Drikus Bruyns 67 76, Derick Petersen 73 70, Tyrone Ferreira 71 72, Desvonde Botes 74 69, Morne Buys 70 73, Jacquin Hess 72 (-1) [12], Omar Sandys 70 (+1) [12], Jake Roos 69 (+2) [9], Jake Redman 72 (-1) [9], Prinavin Nelson 70 (+1) [6], Martin du Toit 71 (Par) [6]
Par - Torben Baumann (GER) 73 71, Stuart Smith (BOT) 71 73, Dean O'Riley 73 71, Michael du Toit 70 74, Louis de Jager 68 76, James Kamte 76 68, Ryan Tipping 71 73, Micky Hough (ZIM) 73 71, JG Claassen 71 73, Bennie van der Merwe 72 72, Neil Schietekat 69 (+3) [9], Andrew Curlewis 71 (+1) [9], Trevor Fisher Jnr 73 (-1) [9], Heinrich Bruiners 75 (-3) [9], Justin Harding 74 (-2) [9], Brandon Pieters 71 (+1) [6], Derik Ferreira 72 (Par) [6]
+1 - Lindani Ndwandwe 72 73, Attie Schwartzel 72 73, Coenie Bester 74 (-1) [12], JP van der Walt 70 (+3) [12], Grant Muller 70 (+3) [9], Christiaan Basson 70 (+3) [9], Haydn Porteous 74 (-1) [9], Kevin Stone 74 (-1) [6]
+2 - Daniel Hammond 75 71, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 73 73, Teboho Sefatsa 76 70, Rudy Whitfield 73 73, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 70 76, Desne van den Bergh 71 75, Francois Coetzee 77 (-3) [12], Beyers Smith 72 (+2) [12], PH McIntyre 70 (+4) [12], Anthony Michael 73 (+1) [9], Allan Versfeld 75 (-1) [6], Chris Erasmus 73 (+1) [6]
+3 - Bradford Vaughan 76 71, Ryan Thompson 75 72, John Bele 72 75, Wynand Dingle 77 (-2) [12], Ockie Strydom 74 (+1) [12], Tyrone Mordt 75 (Par) [9], Steven Ferreira 71 (+4) [6], Neil Cheetham (ENG) 73 (+2) [6], Alan Michell 74 (+1) [6]
+4 - Pieter Moolman 74 74, Tyrone Ryan 70 78, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 74 74, Pieter Kruger 74 (+2) [12], Graham van der Merwe 67 (+9) [9], Hendrik Buhrmann 74 (+2) [6], Ignatius Mketekete (ZIM) 75 (+1) [6], Bradley Sinnett 77 (-1) [6]
+5 - Makgetha Mazibuko 73 76, Juan Langeveld 73 76, Sipho Bujela 75 74, Coenie Stoop 77 (Par) [12]
+6 - Nic Henning 74 76, Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 72 78, Danie van Tonder 81 69, Alan McLean (SCO) 74 76, Louis Calitz 79 71, Divan Gerber 73 77, Alex Haindl 74 76, Gert Myburgh 72 78, Stuart Clark (WAL) 77 (+1) [12], Paul Bradshaw 74 (+4) [12], Chris Swanepoel 78 (Par) [9], JJ Senekal 79 (-1) [9]
+7 - Yubin Jung 75 76, Shaun Norris 80 71, Francesco Laporta (ITA) 72 79, Johan de Beer 72 79, Dion Fourie 80 71, Arthur Horne (SWZ) 73 (+6) [12], Duane Keun 77 (+2) [12], Roux Jeffery (NAM) 72 (+7) [12], Clifford Howes 78 (+1) [6]
+8 - Alpheus Kelapile 80 72, Jaco Ahlers 73 79, Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 75 (+5) [12], Kenneth Dube 79 (+1) [12], Maritz Wessels 78 (+2) [12]
+9 - Nelson Mudanyi (KEN) 79 74, Mark Murless 75 78, Willie van der Merwe 80 73, Keenan Davidse 78 75, Langley Perrins 77 (+4) [12], Mokgeteng J. Mashego 79 (+2) [6]
+10 - Mark Mahoney 74 80, Kyle Stevens 75 79, Joshua Cunliffe 79 (+3) [9]
+12 - Raymond Mathonsi (SWZ) 79 (+5) [12]
+15 - Reggie Adams 79 80, Wandile Gininda 76 (+11) [12]
+17 - Henk Alberts 74 87
+18 - Mikhail Tewary 80 (+10) [12]
+20 - Jonathan Raphunga 82 (+10) [12]
