Share

Brilliant Blaauw flawless in Zambia

Nchanga Golf Club - Jacques Blaauw carded a successive seven-under-par 65 in round two of the Zambia Open to open up a three-shot lead over Jaco Ahlers.

Blaauw’s flawless bogey-free performance consisted of seven birdies, and the 30-year-old will be aiming to record a fourth Sunshine Tour win come Sunday.

“Yeah I’m definitely enjoying it. Today was one of those days - the back nine again, I seem to like the back nine - but the front nine I played steady and I had a couple birdies to finish and I fired again on the back nine. I’m very chuffed with how I’ve been playing,” he said.

“I’ve been close the last couple of years. I’ve come really close – I don’t know how many second place finishes there have been - but there have been a couple. Obviously to get into that winning feeling, it would be great. I will take every day as it comes and hopefully I can just perform like I have been the last two days.”

Blaauw’s back-to-back 65s shows a man in form, however there is always some luck involved, and a final putt on the ninthgreen saw Blaauw hole a monster for birdie.

“I made a big putt on the last, I couldn’t believe it. I hit it almost back edge of the green and made the putt to the front hole location, so obviously luck was involved but I’m happy with how I played,” he explained.

With a three-shot lead going into the weekend, Blaauw isn’t getting ahead of himself and he knows there is still plenty of golf still to play.

“I can’t complain. I’m just really happy to be in the lead. It’s going to be a long weekend for me and I’m hoping to keep it up there and play well,” he said.

Ahlers finished off his round in style with three birdies in a row and a strong weekend could see him earn his fourth victory on tour.

“I made some putts and I’ve been hitting the ball really well over the last two days. The putts I’ve been making haven’t been long putts – they’ve been four or five-footers. It makes a big difference,” said Ahlers.  

Some new practicing techniques as well as a lifestyle change has seen Ahlers adapt a new approach to his golf game.

“I’ve been practicing with the SwingClick and that has made a big difference. Mentally, I was giving myself a hard time and I’ve been trying to just enjoy it – I moved down to George a year ago and that has changed the outlook on life quite a bit.” Explained Ahlers.

Christiaan Basson lies in third place on seven-under-par after carding a second round five-under-par 67, while Ruan de Smidt and Tyrone Ferreira share fourth place on five-under-par for the tournament. 

Scores:

130 - Jacques Blaauw (RSA) 65 65

133 - Jaco Ahlers (RSA) 68 65

137 - Christiaan Basson (RSA) 70 67

139 - Ruan de Smidt (RSA) 69 70, Tyrone Ferreira (RSA) 65 74

140 - Louis de Jager (RSA) 68 72, Andrew Georgiou (CYP) 71 69, Mark Williams (ZIM) 67 73, Hennie du Plessis (RSA) 72 68, Chris Swanepoel (RSA) 73 67,Jaco Prinsloo (RSA) 69 71

141 - Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 71 70, Justin Harding (RSA) 71 70, Andrew Curlewis (RSA) 72 69, Vaughn Groenewald (RSA) 71 70

142 - Danie van Tonder (RSA) 69 73

143 - Patrick Mwendapole (ZAM) 70 73, Thanda Mavundla (RSA) 66 77, Heinrich Bruiners (RSA) 72 71, Jean-Paul Strydom (RSA) 70 73, Steven Ferreira (RSA) 71 72,Michael Hollick (RSA) 69 74, Oliver Bekker (RSA) 72 71, Neil Schietekat (RSA) 71 72

144 - Divan van den Heever (RSA) 72 72

145 - Breyten Meyer (RSA) 68 77, Teaghan Gauche (RSA) 70 75, PH McIntyre (RSA) 72 73

146 - Bryce Easton (RSA) 72 74, Theunis Spangenberg (RSA) 76 70, Titch Moore (RSA) 71 75, Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 75 71, Werner van Niekerk (RSA) 72 74

147 - Makhetha Mazibuko (RSA) 67 80, Jason Viljoen (RSA) 74 73, Irvin Mazibuko (RSA) 72 75, Robson Saurombe (ZIM) 71 76, Arthur Horne (SWZ) 74 73,Neal Herman (RSA) 75 72, CJ du Plessis (RSA) 76 71, Tyrone Mordt (RSA) 73 74, Rhys West (RSA) 69 78, Jason Diab (RSA) 76 71, Stuart Smith (BOT) 75 72,Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 73 74

148 - Aaron Simfukwe Jnr (ZAM) (AMA) 71 77, Lindani Ndwandwe (RSA) 74 74, JC Ritchie (RSA) 74 74, Dwayne Basson (RSA) 72 76, Anthony Michael (RSA) 75 73,Jake Redman (RSA) 76 72

149 - Alex Haindl (RSA) 76 73, Armandt Scholtz (RSA) 80 69, Drikus Bruyns (RSA) 73 76, James Kamte (RSA) 78 71, Jason Froneman (RSA) 72 77,Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 77 72, Stephen Ferreira (POR) 77 72, Derick Petersen (RSA) 75 74

150 - Cosmas Mufaya (ZAM) 75 75, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 73 77, Etienne Bond (RSA) 77 73, Andre de Decker (RSA) 75 75, Le Roux Ferreira (RSA) 78 72

151 - Bryn Flanagan (RSA) 79 72, Ruan Pretorius (RSA) 76 75, Colin Nel (RSA) 77 74

Missed the cut:

152 - Teboho Sefatsa (RSA) 74 78, Jeff Hopkins (IRL) 79 73, Peter Munyinya (ZAM) (AMA) 75 77, Matengele Kaira (ZAM) (AMA) 71 81, Greg Bentley (ZIM) 78 74,Doug McGuigan (SCO) 78 74, Ooko Erick Obura (KEN) 77 75

153 - Ryan Tipping (RSA) 72 81, Rourke van der Spuy (RSA) 79 74, Brian Gondo (ZIM) 76 77, Kayyam Rauf Mandhu (ZIM) 76 77, Roy Da Costa (POR) 76 77

154 - Roux Jeffery (NAM) 78 76, Matthew Carvell (RSA) 77 77

155 - Shane Granger (BOT) 80 75

156 - Beza Daka (ZAM) 81 75, Graeme Fransman (NAM) 80 76, Madalitso Muthiya (ZAM) 78 78, Kelly Tembo (ZAM) (AMA) 76 80

158 - Kangwine Chiluba (ZAM) 78 80

159 - Shingi Shumba (ZIM) 82 77

160 - Charles Chibale (ZAM) (AMA) 79 81, TC Charamba (ZIM) 84 76, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu (ZIM) 84 76, Akil Yousuf (ENG) 79 81

161 - Sydney Wemba (ZAM) (AMA) 79 82

162 - Geoffrey Banda (ZAM) 77 85

163 - Bruce Chanda (ZAM) 78 85

166 - Adam Payne (ZIM) 81 85, Ebenezeer Funga (ZAM) (AMA) 88 78

167 - Kelvin Chibuye (ZAM) (AMA) 85 82

168 - Patrick MwendapoleJn (ZAM)(AM) 87 81

169 - Gabriel Chibale (ZAM) (AMA) 86 83

180 - Moses Chewe (ZAM) (AMA) 89 91

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE